Go No Further
by DirectionOfTime
Summary: ANBU Captain Haruno Sakura is her own woman with no contact with the remains of Team 7; she's happy with her life and unlikely friend until she stumbles across a garden in the middle of nowhere. It's amazing how flowers can change the status-quo.
1. Chapter 1

Ok! Another KakaSaku; Both the title and chapter titles are taken from a poem of mine (pretty random I know lol) and I really want this to be a more heartfelt piece (rather than a sexual piece) but I don't want it to be overly melodramatic… I hope that it can portray the relevant emotions without becoming too… 'Silly' maybe?

I took a little inspiration from Hasu86's Fade In – a brilliant KakaSaku story, (find it in my favourites if you want to read it) although I hope it doesn't come across as blatant stealing, I didn't mean that – only to take some ideas of the Naruto-Sakura dynamic and of her status in my story which is the same/similar to Fade In, although I hope I changed things enough to provide a significantly different story.

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 1: All The Hatred Pain Picks Up_

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><p>Fatigue can easily be confused with tiredness; they are not the same.<p>

True, they represent a similar affliction, but tiredness is easily overcome – a meal, resbite and sleep tend to cure it. Fatigue? It's deeper, so much deeper and it requires so much more to cure it. Every cell cries out for rest, for _peace_.

Sakura was on the return journey from a distant land and a distant battle, it was painful – in almost every sense of the word; she lost; watched those loose. She was running like the wind, as though the devil himself were at her very heels, although the kuniochi knew this was ridiculous; but the battle was –_is_ painful.

And it screamed of a pain even deeper than she really wants to admit.

Tree branch to tree branch her legs moved almost automatically, she knew the area instinctively, she was within the five kilometre radius around Konoha; an area she usually didn't pay much attention to, but for today, every sense was on especially high alert. She leapt forward again towards another tree branch, and lingering on it just a touch longer than she should before jumping away. Taking a deep breath in, she wasn't able sense another presence for miles…there must be at least three and a half to four kilometres to Konoha, still, but the terrain seemed, odd somehow – as though she'd never been to this specific part before – but that in itself was silly.

ANBU Captain Haruno Sakura should know every square inch of the ten kilometre radius around Konoha as though it were her own body. At _least_.

But she couldn't shake the feeling of something feeling alien about this patch specifically, as though it were the little tucked away box she'd thought she'd lost decades earlier. The pink-haired kuniochi would have moved more cautiously were she further from her village and were there a presence – any presence - close by enough for her to sense. But she can't; it's her, the late afternoon sun and the trees – that's all.

-_Wait!_ A sudden flash of colour claimed her attention and she slammed to a halt in a split second; perching on the branch, her keen eyes scanning and gleaning information that most would miss; she knew it wasn't movement which caught her eye. Sakura focused on the splotch of colour – a deep, fiery orange – which, upon closer inspection, appeared to be flowers. Lilies, by the look of them from this distance, but what the _hell_ would such flowers be doing way out here? They were show flowers, or garden flowers, but surely… There couldn't be a garden out here, could there? Leaping a few meters closer, more was revealed to emerald eyes as further, richer colours caught her attention and it was indeed what she assumed initially;

A garden.

A _beautiful_ garden.

Pausing for a few moments longer to make sure that no one else was close, she leapt ahead and lands upon the small earthy path between flowerbeds. She looked around carefully, frankly amazed at what her eyes were showing her, countless flowers all lovingly maintained in small flowerbeds which spread over a small area of perhaps ten or so meters square. Paths intersected each flowerbed – the paths themselves barely a foot wide – all eventually intertwining to a generally central (although at one end of the garden) slab of rock.

It was a rough carving about a meter and a half high of two hands intertwined. One hand was making a half seal of the index and second finger vertical with the remaining fingers and thumb curled around the straight index and second finger tips of the second hand. It was a rough and unskilled carving, but Sakura felt, so strongly, as though she could somehow sense the purpose and love within it – as though its creator cared more for what it represented rather than its aesthetic value.

As the kuniochi looked about the garden – each flower bed having a distinctive colour but with seemingly no discernible pattern – she couldn't deny the sense of peace which accompanied her eyes. The fiery orange flowerbed was at one corner – directly adjacent to the carving and on the far side (of the rock) were deep burgundy coloured flowers which Sakura couldn't name. In the centre of the garden was a circular bed with flowers of a still vibrant but less flaming orange accompanied by deep blue and pink flowers each taking up a third.

There were other, smaller beds too, one of silver – another of leafy green at the opposite corners of the garden; next to the silver bed was one of blazing yellow – sunflowers this time, Sakura could pinpoint them as. There were numerous but tiny other flower beds full of almost every colour Sakura could imagine – but few flowers she could name – the kuniochi had never felt so mesmerized by a _garden_ before.

It had its own semblance of privacy despite having no obvious, man-made boundary; although it was surrounded by tall trees which mostly block it from outside view. It feels almost as though nothing could break through the barrier surrounding this little slice of peace.

It could just as well exist in its own time, space or dimension and Sakura wouldn't notice for all the serenity it offers. The undeniable feeling of security and ease in the place almost confused the pink-haired kuniochi, but she couldn't place why; she doubted it was solely for the reason that Konoha was so close – although there was some of that – but it was more that there was something _deeper_, something in the earth or in the air which gave this place its calm.

The paths were narrow and strangely numerous as though they were precisely for their purpose – not the break up the flower beds or to provide and aesthetically pleasing contrast; but to allow the keeper of this garden access to every inch of the flowerbeds. All of which were lovingly kept; huge, imposing white ones and bulky flaxen blooms were all equally cared for. Even if some seem a little out of place. The paths, little more than well-worn dirt tracks, still emphasised the beauty of the flowers and their pristine, innocent magnificence.

As soon as she had registered her actions, she chose not to fight them as she took a few steps closer towards the stone carving and she dropped to a seat on the thick slab of stone in front of it. It was the perfect width for her to sit cross-legged upon, with a few inches either side spare; she got comfortable and removed her porcelain mask, hooking it over a slender knee as she rested her forearms in her lap. Her eyes seem irresistibly drawn to the carving, it was rough, unfinished and maybe even a little lazy but Sakura could not help but feel that her eyes held an unknown attraction to it.

As her deep green eyes scanned over the carving, her mind found a peace it hadn't known for quite some time; it was as though she was somehow able to objectively reflect on recent events without allowing herself to become emotionally overwhelmed by them. Her heart was cold and hard, of course as it must be for an assassin – but it was the medic in her which still instinctively looked for the means to heal the injured and it was always the medic that morned needless loss.

The ANBU captain has done well in recently, having held the post for close to twenty-three months and has had a high – very high - success rate; she'd essentially kicked everyone in the crotch who thought she was too soft hearted to do well, or was too unsubtle in her attacks to ever be an assassin.

Haruno Sakura was an elite and not to be trifled with, either as a shinobi or a woman. Most men realized this in hour number two of meeting her (she likes to lull them into a false sense of security and to see if they can figure out her strength on their own before she beats the knowledge into them) and most women (apart from being outnumbered and few in the shinobi world generally) respected her for the strength she possessed in any situation which would make a typical woman, and some men, pale. Yes, she was, now, a little jaded and cynical at times, but she liked to tuck this aspect of herself away so that those she was friendly enough with – such as Gai or Ino who might notice – won't.

Gai, a man she never thought she'd end up as close to as she had; she approached him a few years ago before attempting to enter ANBU as a means to improve her taijutsu – which was appalling by that point – her shifts at the hospital had sapped so much time that her daily exercise consisted of walking though the hospital and the journey between her home to said hospital.

Kakashi and Naruto were nowhere in sight and Gai was the most logical choice; she found in the man a spirit (and sense of humour) which were very agreeable to her. He was a kind and honourable man who was able to give her insight into why something wasn't working rather than just telling her so – she'd never expected to find him such agreeable company, but thoroughly enjoyed their training sessions.

Once he'd made his speech on youth every morning, he was all set on training.

The Green Beast, she found, was extremely reliable and even managed to help her with one or two minor ninjutsu issues; although he recommended (at great pains to himself, it seemed) that she go see Kakashi, for as much as he hated to admit it, his eternal rival was the best technical specialist in the village.

Sakura was reluctant and never met with Kakashi as, not only was he hardly ever around, the kuniochi suspected that he would be as apathetic as ever and wouldn't inspire her to work hard in the way Gai was able to and so she'd feel as though she was merely grating on the man rather than a student who needed instruction. Luckily, she never had such a dire problem as to need to see him, so she gave it little thought and sought out the library instead between training sessions with Gai.

Sakura occasionally felt the stab of guilt at how she'd pictured Gai before and how lowly she'd thought of him, but she – instead of telling him this – merely worked ever harder and strove to constantly improve. She thought that this, instead of bearing her soul in a tearful bleeding-hearts rendition would be more appreciated by the Azure Beast.

Apparently, that was the case as she made friends with the man and even shared the occasional drink with him in the local bar. It seemed to Sakura that he was the secure, caring, shinobi figure (her parents being civilian) she'd missed with Kakashi - and when, as a young, insecure kuniochi herself back then, a figure she really needed (although not liking to admit it); she never felt 'in the way' with Gai and that she could query something and get an answer which made sense.

Naruto hadn't been around for a long time; their final confrontation with Sasuke took so much out of him which no one really understood; as they all came to the climax of that battle, both Naruto and Sakura could finally see that Sasuke-teme and Sasuke-kun was finally dead. The only thing left was to finish off his physical body, as though it were the last job of the Fourth Ninja world war. Naruto left soon after, so many people praised him as their hero and saviour and said that he should be instated as Hokage but he couldn't take it.

After everything, he still wasn't able to save Sasuke and that weighed on him so heavily he was nearly crushed, he said that he needed to leave the Leaf for a while and go on a journey – he didn't know where or when he'd be back but he needed to go. Tsunade agreed, with a sigh telling him that it was okay with her so long as he returned alive and well, Naruto agreed and took off with little more than a "See ya, Sakura-chan," And a wave before he was gone, saying nothing to the kuniochi beforehand.

It stung, like a bitch.

Kakashi soon disappeared into the shadows too, they went on the occasional mission together but he was as aloof and seemingly uncaring as ever and Sakura decided that she couldn't be bothered to hope she meant anything to him if he wasn't going to acknowledge it. So nothing happened, Kakashi never acknowledged her as an adult or an equal before he disappeared out of her life and she shrugged, gritted her teeth and sunk into the hospital and training with Gai before becoming a member of ANBU.

Sakura sighed heartily again as she opened her eyes, which had closed at some point during her reminiscing and took in more of the statue; she didn't bother to question who made it – she only considered how its imperfect nature seemed to make it more… real somehow. That if it were perfect and of exceptional workmanship it wouldn't sit right in the garden and it would interfere with the dynamic of this patch of life.

Taking a deep breath in and out, Sakura decided that it was probably time that she returned home to check in with Tsunade and get some sleep; although she was loath to leave the place, she knew that the could not stay forever and doubtlessly the owner of the garden would not be pleased to find her here uninvited. Forcing herself to her feet and replacing her mask, she allowed her eyes to scan once more over the garden before she leapt away back into the trees and ran with renewed sense of purpose.

It was worth getting more quickly back to Konoha to rest so that she can return here without a time limit; the journey back is sort and uneventful, taking little time and she approached Konoha from an angle she hadn't anticipated and one which she'd never used before. Which is probably why she hadn't previously come across the garden; it really was tucked right out of the way on no practical route in or out of Konoha – even so, she remembered the way back and would pay another visit soon.

Landing in front of the gates nodding to the two Chuunin guarding the entrance, she marches purposefully towards the Hokage's office, hoping that her three teammates managed to return safely. The route through Konoha was quiet and undisturbed although there were a few civilians milling around but no one she knew personally to question her bloody clothes or demure gait.

The afternoon light was quickly fading to evening as she rounded the final corner to reveal the building she'd been in search of, her proclain mask remaining carefully in place although her long hair flows freely behind her allowing those who cannot read chakra-signatures to know her identity.

"Sakura! My heart is warmed to know that you have returned safely to Konoha," She halts her steps and sets eyes on the azure beast,

"Gai," She nodded, taking her mask off to face him, "How are you?"

"Well thank you…I was worried, Sakura we were supposed to train together today,"

"Oh, that's right…sorry Gai, I was still on my way back to Konoha,"

"Eh? You guys train together?" A second male voice alerted them both that their conversation was being overheard,

"Ahaha! That's right, my eternal rival, Sakura and I regularly train together!" He eyed the kuniochi carefully over the top of his book, Sakura didn't bother to try and read his expression, she knew it wouldn't get her anywhere,

"I see…why?" His single visible eye flicked between the two shinobi,

"My taijutsu wasn't very good by the time I wanted to enter ANBU so I asked Gai for help, we've been regularly training ever since." Kakashi nods, but allows his eye to linger over her, as though he had something else on the tip of his tongue but was reluctant to say it;

"Well, how about we train tomorrow, if you're free?" Sakura turned her attention back to the spandex wearing Jounin, he nodded enthusiastically,

"Indeed, I would enjoy that! The usual time of eight at the usual place?"

"Sure. I need to go and report to Tsunade-sama now, so I'll say goodbye; Kakashi," She nods at her one-time sensei before turning to walk away, still able to feel his eye on her as she entered the building and climbed the stairs. Sakura couldn't help but feel that Kakashi seemed a little off but hell, she hadn't even set eyes on the man in two years, how would she know what's normal for him?

As the Kuniochi knocked on the door and entered at the Hokage's instruction, she forgot about her questions surrounding the silver-haired Jounin,

"Hokage-sama," She bowed politely,

"Ah, Sakura you're finally back, I was getting worried," Tsunade fixed her with her typical unreadable expression,

"My apologies, Tsunade-sama, it'll all be explained in my report. Nonetheless the mission was a success and the target was eliminated and no connection to Konoha was left."

"Excellent… Are you injured?"

"No,"

"Very well, I'll expect your report tomorrow, dismissed," Sakura bowed again and stepped away, "I'm glad you made it back safely," Sakura looked over to her old shishou and smiled briefly in acknowledgement before disappearing out into the corridor. Walking slowly but purposefully, she replaced her mask before making it out onto the street and decided that she'd take the opportunity to enjoy the evening air and so strolled toward her apartment.

As she traced the familiar route, her mind replayed the mission, it was difficult but a success and she even discovered something. There was a hidden, but strong adventurous streak in Sakura – she loved to explore and find something new but all too rarely was she able to indulge herself when on missions, so the discovery of the mysterious little garden had sparked feelings, and a sense of hidden excitement which usually remained dormant.

Crossing the last of the distance towards her small apartment her mind drifted back to the garden it seemed like such an odd thing to come across but it was so well tended that it suggested the curator visited very regularly and devoted massive amounts of time to it. Unlocking her door and letting herself in, she decided that a shower is the first order of business and then perhaps a meal; she had some rice and vegetables somewhere in her kitchen. She hadn't expected to run into Kakashi earlier that evening and felt awkward as to how she was supposed to respond to him.

She didn't necessarily want to be rude to him but it wasn't as if she had anything to say to the man; they'd gone their separate ways without Naruto or Sasuke to bring them together and so the status quo had remained for the past few years. Even if he were, for some reason, interested in her life at the moment, what was he expecting?

It wasn't as if they spoke much even when she was his student or teammate; Sakura sighed heavily just as she cranked on the water and stepped out of the last of her clothes and into the shower. Either way, she wouldn't have to put up with him again and being on the return journey from such a mission always tended to make her a little more sensitive to the actions and words of others.

It was little more than bad timing when she really wasn't in the mood to deal with anybody – let alone someone whom she could neither read nor guess what his motives or intentions were.

Sighing again, she decided to brush thoughts of him aside and focus on getting clean and fed before she attempted to write out her mission report – between sparring with Gai and meeting with the rest of her team, she was unlikely to have time tomorrow. Luckily, the mission didn't take too long and there wasn't a massive amount to be written – Sakura desperately needed to sleep, despite the repose she felt from being sat in the garden, her very bones felt weary and her mind was desperate, too, to be dead to the world for a little while.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok! A minor edit done to this, a few gramatical, tense and syntax errors caught (hopefully there aren't any more lurking, although they tend to be sneaky, so sorry of there are!)

_Also_: To whomever left the two latest reviews (second beginning with 'oh hey, me again') for _Go No Further_ (they are annonymous, hence I can't reply to you directly) thank you very much for your comments, and I have corrected the sentence you pointed out - sorry about that! Such a silly mistake which I often make - and probably why I really should try to avoid using brackets too much, anyway - thanks a lot and I hope this chapter's up to scratch :D

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 2: Will Leave You Bitter, Lost_

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><p>Kakashi allowed his finger tips to brush over the top of the memorial stone as his mind saying a final prayer for those who've had their names carved into it. Even after all these years he still occasionally wonders if he's the lucky or unlucky one to be still alive – maybe he's the unlucky one, hasn't he lost more bonds than he's made? But then again, that doesn't come down to luck, it's personal choice and he has no desire to get bound by wires which despite initial appearances, will only cause him to trip and falter.<p>

Turning away, he isn't sure of the time, but he hopes it isn't too late as he leaps up and into the tree line; slipping his mask down to just underneath his nose, he sniffs a few times catching the two scents he was looking for. Replacing his mask, he darts away, making sure to keep his chakra supressed and his presence concealed; as he lands on the branch, high up and hidden by foliage, he's in perfect viewing and listening distance. He sits back against the trunk and observes the pair, for now, merely stood across from each other.

Gai has his eyes closed, with one arm raised (bent at the elbow) and a single finger pointing vertically, as he chats away,

("…And that is why we must always cherish the flexibility and fluidity of youth, for it means we are more easily able to overcome the difficulties which are placed before us; for when youth wanes, we must have already gathered enough wisdom through trial and error that we may not be crushed by the anxieties of adulthood…") Kakashi, allowing Gai's speech to wash over him, focuses his eye on Sakura who is turned a little away from Gai (as she was stretching) – no doubt trying to ignore the azure beast.

Her body language suggests that she isn't fully listening, but assumedly, there is still a part of her paying attention to his words; Kakashi allows his eyes to rake fully over her form – without anyone else or her aware of his gaze. She's taller than he remembers – although that was made clear to him last night – her hair's grown out again, it's down to her mid-back but just as straight (with a slight curl at the ends) as its always been.

Her posture is different than he remembers – even from the missions she accompanied him on a few years back. There's an air of certainty, self-assuredness and poise – as though she's a woman who knows her own strengths – and something he's not used to seeing Sakura wear. But then that _is_ what ANBU does to people – it changes them, removes all their hesitancies, insecurities and moulds them into the most absolute of killing machines – especially those of a more sensitive disposition.

Depth of thought is good but soul-searching gets in the way of missions, especially where a target is to be eliminated; Kakashi, when he first got wind of Sakura achieving ANBU rank (he ran into Ibiki who made mention of Sakura, checking that she had been _his_ student. He didn't connect the dots at first, thinking Ibiki was just reaffirming some information due to Sakura's distinctive features but now, he supposes, it was because of the training she was doing with Gai.) was mildly surprised – he really didn't think she had it in her.

He won't question why she didn't come to him, their relationship had always been slightly rocky and as he thought it would only be disastrous for Sakura to join ANBU he would have found every excuse in (his, very large) book to deter her.

Thankfully, it seems, Sakura knew this and saved them both extra time and effort and by-passed him completely; he wonders how long she's been in ANBU for, _long enough, apparently… But why the continued need to train with Gai?_ Kakashi is brought back to the present by the sound of an amused, hearty laugh emanating from Sakura as he saw Gai with his thumbs up. Wondering what of the conversation he's missed to cause to Sakura to laugh,

"Yosh!" Gai's vibrant exclamation cut through as her laughter subsided as they leapt away from each other, putting quite a few feet between them, "Okay, Sakura, as usual ten minutes of dodging only – no chakra and no blocking or deflecting blows, I'll do the same. Ready? Go," _No blocking? Gai really does love old-school training methods_, Kakashi continues to observe as the strange mesh of pink and green dance around each other; the silver-haired Jounin knows that Gai is having to work very hard to avoid Sakura's attacks, she really is capable of giving him a run for his money.

Her smaller, more supple frame gives her the minor advantage in this fight, she far more easily able to weave and bend around; her punches and physical strength without the aid of chakra seems to have radically improved. Kakashi can see as well, that her timing is also impeccable – if it weren't for Gai's years on her, then he'd probably have long succumbed to a nasty blow. All too quickly they paused again – both still looking very relaxed –

"Alright, only blocks this time, still no chakra,"

"Hai," They leap towards each other again, and Sakura's disadvantage is clear, although strong and could easily put any non-shinobi male to shame (as well as some less taijutsu-based shinobi), against Gai she stands very little chance of defeating him and she could only really hope to keep up her attacks to force his to a minimum. They dance in near perfect synchrony – almost as though Gai and Sakura know each other so well that they only go through the physical motions as a formality – they could just as easily battle in their minds and they'd still be on even footing. Soon again they halt, Sakura looking a little more tired but still nowhere near what Kakashi might have anticipated for her;

"Alright, from here on chakra, blocks, dodges and pretty much anything else,"

"Hai," They paused for a split second eyeing each other before they both darted at each other, bright flares of powerful chakra emanated as the two high-class shinobi clashed.

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"You never fail to surprise me with your youthful resilience,"

"Maybe you're underestimating me," They've eventually, come to a standstill where neither had quite lost – but neither had a clear winner been decided; they were panting and on their last legs and by the look of it, a winner would only be decided should they make use of killing moves which would be sure to be a fatal blow. Gai steps forward slightly,

"Quick fire?"

"Hai," She nods as a small smile as they leap towards each other and battle hand to hand for what must be less than a minute before Gai pins her to the ground with a kunai to her neck; although she too has one clenched in her fist her strike would be blind – Gai's won;

"Ah… You always win those quick fire rounds," Sakura rubs her shoulder as they find their feet,

"Why else do you think I invented it?" She merely rolls her eyes as she picks up some of her kunai and sebon strewn on the ground;

"Thanks, Gai, I really appreciate you taking the time to train with me," Said male Jounin grins brightly and gives her a 'thumbs up',

"No problem Sakura! Any time you want to train you can count on me! Especially whilst Lee is away I have more free time than usual," They begin to walk away and Kakashi keeps up, sensing that their unguarded conversation will probably reveal quite a lot,

"Oh yes! How is Lee? He's been away for more than two years now, hasn't he?"

"That's right, his heart is still youthful and yearns to come home, but the experience is good for him – even if he has been again detained for another few months,"

"That's a shame – Lee was going to try for the Tokabetsu [special] Jounin rank, wasn't he?"

"Yes… But this mission will be very beneficial to him… What about Naruto? Have you heard from him? He's still away from Konoha is he not?"

"No… I have no contact with Naruto… Nor Kakashi, either,"

"It is indeed a great shame that Team 7 has suffered from such trials in its life! So great as to tear you all apart is upsetting,"  
>"Well, we were all a part to blame, I suppose – Sasuke just made 'the first move' I guess you could say and the ending it had was too much for Naruto and once that happened there wasn't a 'Team 7' left for Kakashi to manage so he had better things to do,"<p>

"Do you still miss how things used to be – say, in your genin days?" Gai could be surprisingly perceptive at times,

"Yes and no, I miss how happy Naruto – and everyone else seemed then, but I hate who I was and I know that no matter what happened, it couldn't have lasted, with Naruto being what he was. But I am happy with life now, who I am now – besides, Naruto will find that happiness again and hopefully a little maturity with it; and Kakashi? I suppose he just gets on with life much the way he always has – before Team 7 was even created,"

Sakura responds along with a shrug but both Gai and Kakashi dislike her response – Kakashi knowing that her words aren't quite the truth, yes he keeps to himself and goes about life much as he always has, but he could never care so little as to act like they never existed. Gai seems to sense that the current topic isn't a pleasant one for Sakura and so Gai alters it slightly, hoping the Kuniochi won't dwell on thoughts which make her sad;

"Ahaha! You know, Kakashi was very surprised to learn that we train together, yesterday, and that you're a member of ANBU,"

"Yea, he looked it… I would have thought that you would have said something to him, don't you and he still have your rivalry and competitions and things?"

"Yes, of course! But… I suppose it slipped my mind and I thought that you and he would still have had some contact – and I like to give my all and focus entirely on the task at hand when battling my rival,"

"That's fair enough… And no, I haven't even so much as set eyes on him for some two years or so… It doesn't matter too much, though."

"Ah yes, I guessed that you had not gone to see him when I suggested," _Eh? That's new_, Kakashi creeps a little closer, making sure to conceal his presence still;

"It wasn't that I didn't trust your judgement, but I just doubted I'd be able to have gotten what I needed from him… Besides, there is a library and that was good enough to help with the problems," Sakura shrugs,

"Hmm, I have no doubt in my mind that Kakashi would have helped you – he is an honourable man!"

"It wasn't quite so much that… I suppose I felt more that I couldn't – or should go and disturb him when I had the answers in a book… I just didn't think that he'd really want to… Well, I suppose I'm just better suited to your teaching style and I've never had that much interaction with the man anyway, he seemed better as a last resort."

"That almost sounds like a compliment!"

"Haha, well, I didn't realise it before, but it's amazing what a motivated teacher can inspire,"

Kakashi halts, as Sakura and Gai continue to talk but they're getting steadily closer towards central Konoha and Kakashi will not only find it more difficult to keep close though undetected but he also has elsewhere to be. Deciding to head off, he scans his eye once more over the strangely unlikely pair before turning and dashing away in the opposite direction towards the main gates. His feet are as light and swift as ever carrying him towards the gates of Konoha, leaping back into the trees to take the most hidden route he was able out of village, knowing the seals code so that he won't activate the barrier around Konoha, he slips out into the late-morning sun and through the dense forest surrounding Konohagakure.

He leaps from branch to branch keeping his chakra supressed and presence hidden as he flies through the trees, he's pleased to note that he can't sense or smell anybody in the immediate vicinity. There is little more the Copy Nin hates than having his privacy invaded and where he's going can't be any more private and personal to him.

He slows to a halt on a branch, looking over the scene in front of him; allowing a small breath to escape him, he lands just outside the perimeter and walks smoothly down one of the narrow paths, with silvery flowers to his left and a small patch of purple to the right. He walks forward, following the path as it wound around the central circle, before following it up to the statue; he stands still, his weight on one leg and a hand stuffed into his pocket.

"It's been a while, eh? I've been on a mission for several weeks – just a reconnaissance – I'll be sent out again soon for his assassination but I suppose that's irrelevant. I hope no one's disturbed you in my absence, I wanted to set something up to keep others away, but I knew I'd need all I had for the mission." Kakashi turns around and his eye draws lazily over the garden, "It doesn't look to worse for wear, you know, I suppose you must have had a fair bit of rain whilst I was away," He pulls out one of his kunai and steps forward to the edge of one of the flowerbeds; he begins to slice at the dead flowers and other such bits rotten plant. He finds himself unable to resist a grin under his mask at what Gai's response would be to Kakashi's green-fingers – no doubt accompanied by copious tears of joy.

What would Sakura say? Probably raise an eyebrow but otherwise not say very much – maybe she'd wonder how he'd fallen so far, is it unusual for an elite shinobi to turn his hand to a hobby? Maybe it depends on what, precisely, the hobby is.

The great Hatake Kakashi, deadheading.

Still, it's a family tradition – as sure as he carries the name Hatake, he'll carry this garden… Even if he did neglect it for a few years. Besides, it gives him a strange, inner peace to nurture the garden and see it then bloom – even though, somehow, he just couldn't do the same for those he once taught. He'd failed to nurture them correctly – students, much like plants cannot grow and develop if their needs are not met. It's irrelevant how heartfelt or caring the actions are intended, if they aren't right, the flower will die.

Or the student fail to achieve their potential and ultimately wither.

Unfortunately, it usually takes only the harshest lessons to learn what's really of value – but something occurs to him, if he failed Sakura as he thinks he did, why was he so against her joining ANBU? Why would have refused to teach her, if she had come to him? Wasn't he failing her then, too? Kakashi sighs, it's too late in the morning to be thinking about these things, Sakura has done just fine in-spite of him, rather than because of him. He should be grateful for that, at least.


	3. Chapter 3

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 3: Where Jealousy Is The Cousin Of Greed_

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><p>Sakura managed to dodge the kunai and slash at the wire which would have taken out her eye had she not been careful enough, but she leapt forward with enough force to drive her fist into the shoulder of her opponent. She was using just enough chakra to add to the thrusting power of her punch rather than brute force, hence she sent him flying backwards; pivoting on her foot, she deflected a small hail of shuriken before swiftly forming seals for a doton jutsu;<p>

"Ninpou! Arijigoku no jutsu [ninja arts: inescapable hell]!" Sakura shouted just as a sudden sand pit formed immediately beneath where her other opponent was about to land, the earth swirled below him ominously. He didn't have time or leverage in mid-air to dodge what was waiting for him directly beneath; thankfully, the third opponent made an appearance and hurled a wire weighted at one end which coiled around his leg and dragged him out of harm's way.

Just as the ANBU was safe, the final 'enemy' leapt in to face Sakura as she too tugged out her katana and they clashed blades a few times and even though the other ANBU leapt in she managed to time her kicks (charged with chakra) well enough to force them onto the defensive long enough to gain an advantage.

Although Sakura leapt up to escape what would have been a nasty blow from his sword, she couldn't dodge the perfectly timed kick to the ribs provided by the ANBU she'd nearly nailed with her Aijigoku no jutsu.

"Ugh," She hit the ground hard as she heard the ANBU land with a dull thud and the panting breath of the other teammates, she leaned up to find his sword pointing at her but instead of launching a counter attack, she merely smiled, "Not bad, guys, you're improving,"

The sword pointed to the throat immediately dropped and huge sigh of relief emanated from him as he fell to a seat on the grass as did the other two. They pulled off their masks as one began to massage his shoulder, nursing the hefty bruise it sported beneath the dark cloth,

"Are you alright, Taiki?"

"Hai, just that punch of yours…"

"Ah, you left yourself open for it, though; c'mere," She got up, walking over to the young male, running a healing hand over his shoulder,

"It's only bruised nothing serious… I've healed the worse of it, but go easy on it for the next couple of days as best you can." He nodded as she turned to the other two, "You guys okay?" They both nodded, "Good, I'm sure the Hokage will call us for a mission the day after tomorrow, and I want you guys fully prepared for something long term, I have the nasty feeling it we'll be making the final move on that syndicate from Stone – after what they pulled the last time we were there to clear up…

"Well, we'll have to be on our toes and that usually ends up being coupled with copious amounts of patience. So tomorrow, we'll meet up in Jounin training ground 7 and I'll explain the training from there – meet at nine in the morning," Everyone nodded and Sakura took a moment to wait in case anyone had questions, but as they were all in the process of gathering their weapons together and assumed that they needed no further information.

Disappearing in a cloud of smoke she reappeared on top of one of the roofs in central Konoha; her first intention had been to go straight home, but she found herself pausing half way, her mind returning to the small garden she'd previously visited. Half of her wanted to return and feel the sense of peace which seemed to emanate from it but another part warned that it wasn't her garden to visit and that she would be, in a sense, invading another's privacy.

It had been close to a week since she'd stumbled across it and still isn't quite sure what to make of it; as she hesitated on the roof unsure what to do, she almost wondered what her team would think to see her so indecisive. She snorted lightly, they'd probably frown and she'd feeling stabbing glances from them but they wouldn't make a comment unless they were desperately concerned, they respected – or feared – her too much for that.

Unlike most captains, Sakura was not close to her team in the slightest; they rarely shared jokes or a drink after a hard mission – well, they did with each other but not with Sakura. She felt no compulsion to make them her friends or allow them too close; she knew that it would be she who ordered them to do difficult and dangerous things, most of which they were unlikely to return from and as a result, Sakura believed that a cool professionalism was the way to go.

Trying to act like their life-long friend seemed insulting – to be someone's friend surely meant to be their equal and equals did give other equals orders. For the hierarchy which exists, Sakura was their superior and to that end, she kept her distance.

She trusted her team, of course she did – she knew that Taiki, Akihiko and Raiden were all strong and their bond as equal ANBU subordinates (made easier by all being male) was infinitely stronger without her. They respected her – beating the living hell out of them at their first meeting and then saving them near single handed on their first mission (a feat she was rather proud of) had ensure that.

After all, have three young, cocky males as subordinates had almost caused her to fail before she'd begun – those three men essentially looking to prove their masculinity and worthiness by looking to take on the toughest and grittiest missions was certainly undermined slightly by a cute, pink-haired, five-and-a-half-foot-odd Kuniochi claiming to be their Taichou.

They seemed to flinch slightly when she introduced herself, perhaps she used her typical tone without even really thinking and the coolness of her words surprised them. For as much as Sakura had been through, she seemed to retain the physical image of innocence – even though she was anything but.

Her desire to keep her teammat-_subordinates _at arm's length seemed to grate on them initially – thinking she was just a nasty, unfeeling woman. But after a number of missions, near death experiences and witnessing her not hesitating to take a blow for them and heal every injury, they saw the truth – her focus was on doing the best for the team and the mission and in her book, that meant not getting too close.

Sure, it confused them when she never batted an eyelid at how close the three males were to each other and was the most aloof if any one tried to talk to _her_, but she eventually explained to them that friendship is between equals and they aren't. To pretend that they were would be an insult to both them and her – especially when she needed to issue orders and they had to follow them.

They had their vague ideas about what had happened in her past – Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Hatake Kakashi were some of the most famous shinobi in the world, let alone in Konoha – and the final battle which claimed the Uchiha's life (and some say Uzumaki's sanity) was the climax of the fourth ninja world war – and not a single (shinobi) soul hadn't been involved to one degree or another.

Sakura had, of course, heard Taiki and Akihiko's conjecture about all of this (damn gossips) – her, Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi although she never let them know – that was a topic of conversation not fit to be spoken aloud.

Even if Naruto miraculously returned and they meet up – Sakura didn't think she would ever be able to discuss those things again. Hell, even coming face to face with Kakashi brought a bitter taste to her mouth and he hadn't even _done_ anything – at least, not in the way Naruto and Sasuke had.

Sighing to herself, she decided against going to the garden, her depressing thoughts brought her a melancholy which made her listen to her sense of morality, that it was _someone else's and she wouldn't appreciate it if another violated her space in the same way._

Landing back outside her apartment in a matter of moments, Sakura fished out her key and twisted it in the lock, letting herself in she breathed a sigh of relief to be back in her apartment – in her own space. It was a decent size, with her bedroom, a bathroom and a large living room (with small kitchenette attached). Kicking off her sandals and slammed the door behind her (she always took pleasure from closing the door behind her as the final act of getting rid of everyone else for the time being).

In many respects, her home was her castle, and it was very specifically _hers alone_ – she never invited anybody into her apartment and she _loved_ it that way. Even for Ino (her only real _friend_) they always met in either a tea-house or at Ino's – said Kuniochi being considerably more relaxed – although now a very accomplished Jounin – about allowing others into her life.

Deciding on a shower first, Sakura made her way to her bathroom working her armour loose and she went; her mind began to work through a plan for the rest of the day (a strange compulsion she picked up after studying under the slave-diver-like tendencies of Tsunade) and she decided that a little more studying for her new jutsu would be appropriate.

About an hour later, after a long, hot shower and a meal, Sakura was relaxed enough to sit down and study; pulling open some of the books she'd collected on her travels as well as borrowed from the library. As she sat in front of her text books at the table in her lounge (the endless thirst for knowledge had never dwindled in her) she couldn't get through more than a few paragraphs before her mind slowly drifted back to the garden and what it would be like to sit in front of the monument in the early evening sun.

Pausing, she rose to her feet, almost allowing her body to drag her away from her work and to the object of her thoughts before she'd even registered it. Sighing slightly, she hesitated yet again, a part of her still not wanting to give in and go to it but… It was calling her somehow and even against her better judgement, she found herself pulling on her _zori_, shrugging a thick, but non-descript jumper over her head and disappearing out of the door with little more than a light breeze to signal her movement.

She ran quickly, but not at full speed, even so, it didn't take long for her to reach the border of Konoha (and utilize the pass-jutsu for the barrier) and take herself off to the small garden.

As she landed, silently onto one of the small paths, she stared, wide-eyed at how exquisite the blooms looked under the setting-sun's gaze. There seemed to be a shimmer – or maybe a glow – to the flowers which made each one look as though she could see the very _life-force_ of each plant clearly.

Almost afraid for a moment to walk down the paths – fearing that she might intrude upon the peace – but her feet again decided for her and she was tracing, reverently in halting steps, the dark pebble paths towards the statue of the two intertwined hands screaming everything shinobi.

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><p>Kakashi couldn't resist the groan in displeasure, his body <em>ached<em> and _screamed_ at him to go home and rest – on a bed, preferably a warm, dry, vacant one. Such as the one in his apartment – a hot meal wouldn't be unwelcome either, but then, that would too require effort to cook which would be better spent showering. As he leapt, somewhat sluggishly (for the Copy Nin, at least) from branch to branch crossing the distance back to Konoha and home from his latest assignment; it hadn't taken long and was a quick and dirty solo he had little trouble coping with.

He wasn't really injured aside from the odd bruise and some deep seated fatigue from two successive nights without sleep (combined with great physical and chakra exertion) although his clothing _had _taken something of a beating; much of it was in shreds and he had an unfortunate slice right under his nostrils which meant his hyper-sensitive nose was under constant attack. Another branch under foot and he suddenly realized that he recognised the area – as in specifically, a few hundred meters up ahead would be his garden.

Almost involuntarily he took a deep breath, wincing slightly at the overload of scent (and resisted the urge to splutter or throw up) so it took him a few moments to figure it all out, _trees, birds, flowers, rats, …Sakura?_ Kakashi slammed to a halt as he recognised a familiar scent, a familiar _human_ scent.

Mentally preparing himself for the nasty overload, he exhaled slowly before breathing in deeply and forcing his mind to focus on the influx of smells. Yes, it was definitely Sakura – but what the _hell_ was she doing out here? Unless…

Kakashi supressed his chakra and darted off again his anger and worry growing by the second as he galloped the last of the distance he appeared on a hidden branch and looked down on the garden seeing that Sakura was indeed sat on the small stone in front of the carving. Rage and betrayal flooded his veins as he had to forcibly resist the urge to leap down and drag Sakura away but he held back.

Kakashi was almost unable to rationalize the rage, even to himself – how _dare_ she invade somewhere so private to him? She may as well have broken into his very home and used it as her own, even _that_ would have been more bearable… But here? This garden? Fuck…

Kakashi glared at her back for a few more moments before disappearing into the trees and flew back to Konoha; _if she thinks she can sit in that garden and get away with it, then she has another thing coming… _

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><p>Sakura landed back outside her apartment door, allowing a tiny, near imperceptible smile to grace her lips as she noted how much more at ease she felt as she again twisted the lock and turned back to pull of her <em>zori<em> and close the door. Stretching her arms up above her head as she turned around and nearly jumped out of her skin, dropping her arms she eyed, very carefully, the man sat in the chair she vacated earlier to go to the garden,

"Kakashi? What the _hell_ are you doing here?" The Jounin looked as calm and nonplussed as ever as his single visible eye dragged over the open books and her scrolls full of notes before finding its way up to her face. He looked terrible, his clothes in tatters and covered in flecks of mud;

"I've just come back from a mission, it was only a short one but I'm quite tired… I was on my way back to Konoha – on a route which happened to take my past some personal property of mine and I find a _trespasser_ there, you." Kakashi's tone was cold and unforgiving; he swivelled slightly in the seat and rose up onto to his feet as though he'd sat in it countless times, taking clipped but purposeful steps towards her. Sakura could feel the sickly feeling creep upon her at how violated she felt and _bare_ at his presence where he wasn't welcome; in _her_ personal space.

"Y-your garden?"

"Yes. _My_ garden and I don't _appreciate_ visitors. You will speak of it to no one and nor will you visit it ever again." He'd walked right up to her and leaned down a little so that his face was level with hers, leaving only a few centimetres between them; she could smell the mud, sweat and blood on him from his proximity, he hadn't taken his sandals off either,

"I didn't _know_ it belonged to you,"  
>"Surely you must have known that it belonged to <em>somebody<em>, you don't think it just grew naturally, did you?"

"Of course not!" His condescending tone combined with his own invasion of her personal space was enough to make her want to punch him,

"You will never visit that garden again. Do you understand?" Sakura took a step back to regain some sense of personal space, although she knew it would be something of a futile manoeuvre – she'd already been invaded, _was being_ invaded,

"You don't have to order me! I'm sorry for invading your space and if you really want, then I'll never go there again,"

"It isn't about what I _want_, it's about you trespassing on my property and personal space. You will not visit again." His voice was venomous and full of such threat that Sakura, for a moment, didn't doubt that he'd fully utilize everything in his repertoire of skills against her if she didn't cooperate;

"I'm sorry for-"

"You will not visit again." He takes another step closer with the hand by his side involuntarily clenching into a fist; Sakura held her ground this time, her entire body tense and ready for a fight – to both block and attack as necessary – knowing that it was no longer Kakashi or even Kakashi-sensei in front of her, but rather the dangerous and formidable Copy Nin – hell, it could even have been an S-class missing nin for all the difference it'd make;

"Fine," She couldn't keep her eyes from involuntarily narrowing, its own silent challenge to man in front of her, "I won't visit again," They stared each other down for a few more moments before he moved back slightly,

"Good… You'd better not." His eye didn't leave hers as he wrenched open her front door and was gone in a split second, slamming it harshly closed behind him.

As if frozen, she remained stock still for about five minutes taking in all that had happened – _him_ it was _his_ garden that she'd invaded. How often had she thought of her own sense of being violated if another was to come into her home?

Shaking with anger she paced forwards and back through the space between her small kitchenette and the table she had been working at. Pausing her steps, she focused her chakra to her fist and splintered the chair Kakashi had been sat in; for the moment having no idea who to be more livid with.

He for _daring_ to invade her _home_ or herself for _daring_ to invade his _garden._


	4. Chapter 4

Yo! I've just realised a continuity error, in the previous chapter, I made reference to a 'Rock syndicate' and a mission to Earth country (wherein Iwagakure [Rock] is located), what I _meant_ to write was Hidden _Stone_ [Ishigakure] – I am really, _really_ sorry for this mistake (I've gone back and corrected it) but _sincere apologies_ for my carelessness and any resulting confusion! Completely my bad! That said, hope you enjoy the chapter!

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 4: We All Hold Our Own Truths_

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><p>When Sakura awoke the next morning, she still felt the touch of unease at the thoughts of yesterday's events but forced them out of her mind as she readied herself for the day. She wanted to apologise to Kakashi – genuinely, rather than as a means to placate an argument – but she wasn't sure how; the kuniochi sensed that any further attempt to speak to him or make mention of the garden might do more harm than good.<p>

Thankfully, however, she'd managed to regain her emotional calm before she went to sleep and had rationalized both her own anger and Kakashi's quite easily. His display to get her to cooperate was simple but highly effective – he was, after all, a deliberate man – and whilst her anger still brewed deep within her at his violation of her home, she _could_ understand it. Although it did little to ease her guilt to think that she had violated his own sense of privacy, even if it was inadvertent, that still did not justify or excuse her actions.

Kakashi was about the most private individual she'd ever come across and people only saw of him what he chose to _allow_ them to see. She had learned, over the years, how to create a front with which to face the world beyond her apartment and, as such – due to past, deep wounds from not strengthening this front enough – she had become, perhaps excessively, protective and careful with it.

Which was no doubt where her sense of privacy and personal sanctity came from; wearing an abstract 'mask' was emotionally exhausting and rest only came when (or where) she could 'take it off', so to speak and for the kuniochi, this was her apartment.

Perhaps this stood for Kakashi too, Sakura wondered, for a man who never lets down his guard, he must have quickly come to the realization that he could not continue indefinitely without some form of regular respite. And the simple addition of a cloth mask, doubtlessly, did the job perfectly (not to mention, was probably far less fallible).

She'd planned a rather in-depth training session for her team and she hoped that they'd be able to cope well enough with the territory she'd be emulating. Thankfully, she'd gone easy on her chakra usage yesterday so she had enough spare for today and wouldn't be completely exhausted for the mission tomorrow.

As she left her house, kitted in her near full ANBU gear (bar her porcelain mask) as she made her way – slightly early – to the training ground; as she arrived, she began to mould her chakra and began to form the hand seals for exploding clay-clones – four of them as she instructed them to hide in the rock face before her.

Using doton techniques of their own, the moved through the rock easily and hid themselves at random intervals of the rock face; satisfied that they'd hidden well enough, she then set about digging into the rock and setting a few further traps into the rock face – somewhere the rock was loose and others of hidden kibakufuda [exploding tags].

And a few others of ingenious device she was almost torn – she didn't want her teammates injured, especially not before a crucial mission but at the same time, she _was _proud of her trap setting abilities, and wanted them to catch the 'intruders' by surprise.

Just as she'd finished to her preparations for the training session to her satisfaction, two of the three of her teammates showed up, but appearing in true shinobi fashion and the third (Akihiko) was strolling in a relaxed gait. Ignoring him for the moment, she turned to Raiden and Taiki before gesturing at the rock face in front of them;

"Today's training session will be a simulation exercise… Or there about," She spoke with a gentle smile but both men looked as though they weren't entirely certain how to interpret their captain's surprisingly neutral tone; as Akihiko caught up he followed the other two's gaze,

"Rock-climbing today?"

"With a twist, yes," Akihiko raised an eyebrow but said little else; "When we were last in Stone, we remained mostly in Ishigakure [hidden stone] and this syndicate is far enough away from the village that they've managed a few more underhanded tactics; however, they also have quite a few shinobi working for it and it would appear that they have a substantial base of operations tucked away into a rock-face – similar to the way Ishi is, but is significantly smaller – and with a few S-class nin, they've made the place secure." All three men nodded,

"So you're emulating, for us, that environment?"

"Exactly… I've set loads of traps – of varying different sorts into the rock face – so you'll have to be on your toes to say the very least. I'll be at the top – when you reach it we'll have a simple spar – your primary focus (other than defeating me) is to attract as little attention as possible before you retreat back down the rock face. Now, ideally I'd want you to do this twice, once alone and once as a team but we don't have the time and I don't have the chakra, so make you way to the top and bottom as swiftly and subtly as possible,"

"Hai, Taichou," All three men responded in unison,

"Now, take a few minutes to plan, but remember, time is of the essence – we won't have any to waste whilst were in Stone country," Sakura made a few hand seals and immediately teleported up to the top of the cliff; as the kuniochi stared down at the remains of her team briefly conversing before spreading out along the rock face she reflected on how creepy it felt to have the three of them crawling slowly up towards her.

Although she knew her strengths, weaknesses and style as well as theirs, she somehow wasn't able to completely quash the feeling of being invaded.

It was very different to the feeling she'd had with Kakashi yesterday, when he was in her home, but this was more like being aware of what was going to happen and yet she just had to wait it out until she could act. It was so alien to remain still as enemies approached; usually she was busy moving around to gain the upper hand, confuse or launch a counter attack, but just to be _stock still_ was… Inconceivable.

Although, this _did_ give her strong and unwavering motivation not to allow her team to pass and she would make damn sure that they would have to give it _everything_ if they wanted to-

Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of an explosion and a sizable hole being blasted into the rock-face, the shout of a curse came from Taiki as she could see him trying to creep around the crater. Fishing out a shuriken she signalled the slightly younger male,

"Taiki, you're not subtle enough!" She immediately released the throwing star and forced him to literally leap out of the way (amid another hasty curse) and he disappeared from sight; Sakura, from copious previous experience, knew very well how ruthless Stone shinobi (and citizens in general, it seemed) tended to be. They were as cold and unforgiving as the very land they heralded from; if captured, they were the quickest to commit _seppuku_ and if they were the ones to take prisoners, well, _nothing_ was 'too far' in the pursuit of knowledge – or the upper hand.

Unless, of course, they desired something which only an alive and relatively healthy hostage could provide.

Another blast – one of her exploding earth clones – had her crouching slightly again dragging out three sebon, which she clenched in her fist, waiting for the opportune moment to strike – knowing exactly where they were.

~~/********/~~

"Right, I know I warned you that this mission would be coming up a few weeks ago and it has, but unfortunately, the status-quo has been changed slightly," Tsunade paused only to pick up a scroll and toss it to Sakura, who caught it with barely more than a simple outstretching of her hand; "The premise of the mission is still essentially the same – to infiltrate Stone country and locate and destroy the hideout of the syndicate which has been running and setting up very shady deals in the Fire country which threaten Konoha.

"However, in addition to this, other squads who've – whilst on other missions – kept an eye open for any reference to this guy or his syndicate have come across other things which run a little deeper. I won't tell you anything more than the absolute bare minimum – it's too risky as we want this guy alive for interrogation, but the rest of his syndicate and hideout destroyed.

"Of course, if there are documents on his dealings it would be beneficial to save them, but it might not be possible to obtain them – besides, I rather you didn't waste the opportunity to get him or destroy everything else for the sake of possibly non-existent papers." Sakura nodded carefully, that certainly _did_ throw a wrench in the plan she'd been cultivating since the return of their previous mission to Stone (and their last, albeit minor entanglement with this syndicate).

"This mission will take some time, I suspect that there be plenty of spanners to be thrown in the works, but I know you're all capable of this – Stone shinobi are as about as ruthless as they come. Be careful, I don't want to lose any of you on this mission."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama,"

"You'll leave tomorrow morning at dawn, dismissed," They all bowed in respect before disappearing in puffs of smoke; Sakura landed back outside her apartment not long after, her plan for the evening was – after a shower and large meal – to read up on human anatomy and re-familiarize herself with pressure points for incapacitating and non-fatally wounding a target from a distance. As she let herself in and hurried immediately to the shower, her mind was too busy creating scenarios and plans of action to even consider they previous day's events.

Settling herself, now both fed and clean, she easily decided the teams for which initial reconnaissance stations and who would be best to tackle the boss rather than installing the explosive devices. From memory, she had a good idea of both terrain and type of rock they would be facing, but that was, in many ways, nullified by the potential shinobi they could have at their disposal. Still Sakura was an ANBU captain and with her team behind her, there would be very little they truly couldn't cope with.

* * *

><p>Kakashi's footsteps were purposeful, if not a little heavy as he made his way to the KIA stone in the evening light; although he really didn't want to admit it to himself and find another way to explain it, he knew that it was one thing only: he was sulking. Taking a deep breath, his mind played, yet again over the events of the day previous; he hadn't meant to raise his voice or display his anger so openly to her.<p>

But neither had he expected to feel so exposed and… _Betrayed_ somehow at her presence in his garden – which was the closed thing to his parents' graves – or those of his friends – it was his means to guarantee that their memories endured.

Not to mention that it was a garden his mother loved and nurtured – or so he'd been told – that it brought her great happiness to be there; having never met her (and the longing, nostalgic expression his father wore whenever he rarely spoke of it and her) made it seem all the more important to keep and care for. And to see Sakura sat there… It felt as though she'd reached up and ripped his mask off in a crowded room and he'd been powerless to stop it.

He'd never before come across anybody trespassing in his garden and he supposed that he'd underestimated how it might make him feel; foolishly of course and allowed his emotion to colour his decisions and therefore subsequent actions. When he turned up at her apartment (he'd had Pakkun sniff it out) his intention had been to force her to empathize with how he felt at her invasion.

Considering how long it had been since they'd last spoken – or even set eyes on each other – let alone since he'd been any sort of authority figure to her, he felt certain asking or even ordering her without any sort of incentive would prove meaningless and ultimately, fruitless.

Unless he could get Sakura to understand and empathize – forcibly, if necessary – with what that garden meant to him and how her presence affected him, then she was far less likely to respect his wishes. After all, from his earliest memories of Sakura, she always liked _reasons_ for both actions and speech – even as a twelve year old, she rarely accepted much at face-value even if she didn't always articulate her desire for more knowledge.

He can still clearly remember, despite the time that's passed, whenever he would tell Team 7 merely to 'do' something (without a satisfactory reason why for Sakura) she'd always gain a very suspicious look until he gave in and explained (or Sasuke began to work on the task).

He felt guilty at letting his anger get the better of him, something he hadn't allowed to happen in a very long time; perhaps something about Sakura herself had affected him more than he realized. The fact that he _physically_ recognised the kuniochi as well as varying traits about her, but she'd grown up and become and _adult_ he didn't know.

He couldn't order her and expect her to follow him – not like he had done whilst she was a child – and somehow that had made him feel all the more frustrated – assuming she'd be unnecessarily obstinate.

Realizing that he'd been in front of the KIA stone for quite some time he turned and thought it best to move off again, this time in the direction of his apartment. One thing had struck him, however, about the level Sakura must be working on if she were looking at (and very close to developing) a space-time ninjutsu. The scrolls she had laid out on the table went into quite a bit of serious detail, although he hadn't time to read much of it and was in no mood to analyse anything.

_Shame_, he thought, it had been so long since he last fought a space-time ninjutsu user in the form of Uchiha Madara some seven odd years ago (and that had really been only a dance, the Akatsuki member saw them as no threat). The Fourth, of course, was the only other high level space-time user that he'd ever had contact with, but for many reasons, Kakashi had never had the opportunity to spar with him and learn how to face such a jutsu user.

Kakashi was very intrigued, though, after he'd had time to calm down and reflect upon his actions – which he knows that he'll have to apologise for but only after tempers have significantly cooled. If he tries too soon, he knows that not only will it invalidate the point of his display to her, but that he may very well loose his own temper again – or worse, flare hers into not taking him seriously.

Allowing a long breath to escape him in the now cool air, he averted his gaze up to the dark sky, hoping, that if he was careful enough in his handling of both the apology, whenever it may be, and his broaching of this subject, he could well have the opportunity to train with a space-time jutsu user. _I wonder if Tsunade knows that's what she's been working on? Unlikely, considering how closed off she seems…_ He sighed again, hoping that his next interaction with the kuniochi would not quite be so fiery.

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I know you probably think I'm skimping on the battles and fight scenes and things at the moment, but I'd rather do a full-blown one a little later where I can make it really detailed and the focal point of a chapter rather than as an introductory / 'space-filler' as it were, hence I've only written two little semi-battles. Sorry if this is annoying you, but I'm planning, in roughly a chapter or two (maybe three depending where I slot Kakashi's POV in), to write a major fight – so thanks for bearing with me…

Why, yes, I do *_love_* the idea of space-time ninjutsu and I will be discussing it later in great detail (well, as best I can, as yet I've found very limited information on it, grr!) I'll try not to get carried away with the physics of it, tho there will be a little bit ^-^… if anyone knows a good website which could give me any detail on space-time jutsus, please let me know! Cheers!


	5. Chapter 5

I apologise for the delay in publishing this – had slight writers block over exactly what should and shouldn't be in this chapter, mostly becuase this and the next one are very interconnected but I thought it was just a little too much to squish into one chapter and still be manageable. I really didn't want this to feel too much like filler but there is a purpose and I wanted to elaborate on things ... So I'll do my best to get the next chapter out by tomorrow at the very latest...Cheers.

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 5: The Frog At The Bottom Of The Well _

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><p>Just over a month had passed since he'd last set eyes on Sakura (he gathered pretty quickly that she must be on a mission) and this was fine – he'd speak to her when she returned. <em>When<em> she returned – whenever it may be.

He himself had just been assigned his third mission over the period of Sakura's absence – and this was one he wasn't much looking forward to. Generally, he disliked Ame territory (although not necessarily Amegakure itself – he found that the almost multi-layered city of particular interest, although he'd never had time to freely explore it). The country as a whole was considerably less savoury – most people we're terribly welcoming and the near permanent rain meant tracking and fighting was extremely difficult.

For a man who specialized in these things, he was never impressed when a mission to Ame turned up.

Still, he was running as fast as he could West towards Ame, in the hope that he would be able to find _some_ trace of the man he was looking for – although from the information he'd been given it was suggested he was an extremely paranoid individual. He was – also irritatingly – to capture and bring the offender back to Konoha; it really would have been easier to eliminate him, but that wouldn't solve the underlying problem.

Hence, he'd have to use a more old-fashioned way of thinking like his opponent and convincing the locals to cooperate. He was steadily getting closer towards the Rain border and he knew that his target had been in possession of some property which sat very close to Kusa territory – which Kakashi thought would prove the best place for him to begin his search – and at the very least, he would have something more concrete to go on.

He was planning on spending one more night in the Fire country – it being about three hours until darkness would fall again and he could make Rain territory if he pushed hard enough but it didn't seem worth it.

He would still be forced to hold still in the darkness and as the delay was unavoidable, he may as well wait it out in known and relatively safe territory. Slowing to a halt, he was only a few kilometres from the border and well away from the closest trail, using the dying evening light, he pulled out his map and began to assess likely escape routes.

The man he was after was no friend of Fire or Earth having caused numerous issues and trafficking with drugs which were unusually potent – by the look of them, designed to scupper shinobi. He was proving a difficult man to both find and capture – although there'd been no records showing him being given formal ninja training, he did have substantial chakra and had proven, on numerous occasions, that he was skilled in the more subtle shinobi arts of evasion, diversion and sneaking.

That, unfortunately, gave little indication of his jutsu repertoire; combining this with the fact Kakashi had been given scant details on his physical appearance and habits, meant that Kakashi was working next to blind. Folding away his map, having plotted the most likely route he'd follow; either towards Stone or River Country – Wind was a possibility but less likely due to its allegiance with Fire.

With his objective clear, he began to set a number of traps in the immediate vicinity which would at least alert him to anybody trying to get within fifteen feet of him and he settled down, intent to capturing at least a few hours' sleep. He'd need all of the rest he could afford, sensing that not only would Rain be unforgiving in physical exertion, it was also not a patient country for those who need to rest.

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><p>"Kuso…" Sakura shifted on the balls of her feet to get a slightly better angle with which to see the rock face; she'd been crouched in the same position for nearly three hours whilst she waited for Taiki and Raiden to finish their infiltration. They'd been observing and collecting information on the Syndicate and its hideout for just over a month and a half – for their base of operations, they'd really chosen well. It was set into the rock face of a fairly narrow gorge of sorts, where either side (above the hideout) had long, stretching plateaus where anyone approaching could be spotted miles away.<p>

From any outside observer, it also looked fairly benign, invisible to all unless they were stood in the gorge or were looking down from right on the precipice – it still only looked like it was a particularly gnarly rock face, which could have suffered explosions at the hands of miners – which was fairly common in these parts. However, most of it was the trick of a high class genjutsu as the reality of the rock was that it was a little more modelled, sporting the odd suspiciously doorway-shaped holes and a few other minor steps and staircases cut into the rock to make movements easier.

Akihiko suddenly appeared next to her,

"Captain? I completed the final scouting of the gorge and it seems like your initial suspicion was close, but not quite on,"

"In what way?" She didn't look away from her binoculars pointed at the opposite face, seeing figures pop out of seemingly nowhere, to take their guard shifts;

"Well, you were right that the water way had been redirected – probably decades and decades ago, and it was done so about ten kilometres north-west of here. The gorge at that point must have suffered a massive explosion because most of it is almost completely filled in and it would look at though the overall structure is very weak – despite the generally hard stone of the area – which was no doubt done to try and ensure no one would get any bright ideas about setting the river back on its original path."

"Mmh, and what about that analysis of mine is wrong?" She finally looked away from the rock to face him fully, the young man looking serious but concerned, "Well, apparently, there's a trading route that passes over a make-shift bridge at that cave-in,"

"What? I thought we checked and re-checked all of the trade routes and their supplies came from the south east route which goes on to the Stone, Rain and Wind border,"

"Apparently not…Although it seems that it is the only one which comes through there and is doubtlessly to make sure that if one route fails they won't be completely scuppered; although I'm impressed they've managed to keep it so well hidden. A few kilometres up is where they keep another stable of horses for relaying the supplies back to base."

"Shit," Sakura rubbed a hand over her forehead, "How regularly did they stop by?"

"Hmm… Well, it can't be that often and most traders make the journeys which are roughly once a month and I saw them dishing out what looked like pretty substantial supplies… What do the numbers look like of those coming and going?"

"It looks as though all of their operative come back to base on a fairly regular basis – I've seen all of those listed return at least once – some of the younger ones seem to spend most of their time in and around the small towns in this patch of Ishi and it's only the higher ups who move further afield."

"How are Taiki and Raiden doing?"

"They've been in there coming up to three and a half hours, I just hope they've managed to get what we need," Sakura gave the rock face another scan before again addressing her teammate; "Get some rest, Akihiko, when the others return I'll explain the second phase," He nodded and crawled away into their little dug-out in the cliff to sleep away his residing exhaustion from having been on the move near constantly for the past week and a bit.

…

"Alright, I'll explain it all fully now, because I have a suspicion we'll find it difficult to meet up and reiterate it later, so get this plan in your head and run a simulation of it at least three times over to yourself. First things first, our timing for all of this is absolutely crucial – we _must_ be in perfect synchronization or the entire past month and a half will be for nothing.

"As I've stated before, I will be heading into the hideout – along with Raiden – where I will go in search of and capture the boss – Aijikawa – Raiden will go in and steal the remaining documents we need. At the same time, Akihiko and Taiki will head down the gorge in different directions and set the horses loose before planting the last of the explosives.

"The both of you will then detonate the two sets furthest out to draw away most of the enemy; you will then wait exactly fifteen minutes before you set the final detonations to completely cave in the complex. Precisely as the first detonations will occur, Raiden and I will be in position to strike our targets – which, if all goes well, we should then have the ten minutes necessary, at the very least, to escape the complex before the secondary explosions occur."

All three men nodded carefully, they were, as instructed, dressed in nondescript clothing that would shield most of their faces and any possibility of their identities and origin to be discovered.

"You all remember where the primary and secondary meeting points are?" They all nodded again, "I'll say it again anyway, the first point is twelve kilometres from here at the rock outcrop, once there wait for three hours maximum – if no one else shows up proceed to the secondary meeting point by following the Rain/Wind border down until you reach the River country, were the second point will be seven kilometres in from the _Wind_ border and three and a half kilometres down from the _Rain_ border. It will still be mountainous but at quite low altitude - there will be plenty of cover. Once there wait for a maximum of three days before continuing on back to Konoha.

"Taiki and Akihiko, you two are most likely to be face with serious pursuit – so it is probable we'll end up regrouping at the secondary meeting point, which was the purpose of setting it up. I would rather that there wasn't anyone left alive to pursue you, but it may well be the case – if you are followed, throw them off or kill them – we _cannot_ let them know we're from Konoha. Whilst the more powerful members – whom are higher ranking shinobi – are away on long term missions, some of the lower ranks won't necessarily be incompetent…

"We can't afford to take chances or to slack off on this… Now, all our watches are in perfect alignment, yes?" She quickly looked over to see them all precisely the same to within the second, "Good; Raiden and I will drop down and infiltrate at precisely 03.17am, Taiki and Akihiko will set the first detonators to go off at exactly 03.30am so the second set is for 03.45am. The next closest guard change will be at 04.00am, so it should be the right time to catch them at their worst." Sakura looked at her men once more, she, like them was looking forward to the end of this mission it had been long and boring but full of excessive unresolved tension.

"You guys get some rest, I'll wake you up when its time,"

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><p>Sakura trusted her team, she knew they wouldn't let her down, but even so her mind began to scenarios just in case things did not go according to plan. Regardless, the most important things were to capture Aijikawa alive and to prevent any connection to Konoha being made checking her watch again, it read 03.21am, she and Raiden had managed the infiltration without too much trouble and were now respectively ghosting through the dingy halls in search of their respective targets.<p>

Between Taiki and herself, they'd collected excellent details about where she would find his quarters and their state of security; she knew when to expect guard rotations, how light or heavy a sleeper the man was and how his quarters were arranged down to the square inch.

They'd been planning the next few minutes for _weeks_ and as she stood, blending into the shadows a few feet from the two primary guards outside Aijikawa's quarters, she took a final look at her watch, mentally and visually counting down the last remaining seconds.

As soon as the minute hand clicked precisely 30 seconds she flicked her wrist – within which she had two kunai clenched. Just as she released the kunai, the very earth itself seemed to shake and deep, threatening rumble shattered the silence as the shockwave of the primary explosions were detonated.

The two men, before they had time to query what in the hell was going on, were facing an attack of a decidedly more personal nature as one guard was struck through the neck and killed immediately; the second appeared to be a little more skilled and deflected the weapon with his katana. He twisted around to face the direction of the kuniochi as she leapt from her vantage point, with a further two sebon sailing towards the man.

She landed as silently as she were able before immediately darting forward, withdrawing her own sword to clash them together; this single meeting of blades with a sharp gnash was enough to tell Sakura that her experience of sword fighting was – surprisingly – quite similar to the mans.

As Sakura allowed her right arm to twist and angle the blade of her sword correctly, her left fished into her pouch to drag out another two kunai; forcing his blade away from his body to counter her strike to his extreme right.

The first kunai reached its target and dug into his left shoulder, straight through the tendon – but being a trained shinobi he resisted the pain and swivelled himself around to throw a kick at her but she ducked beneath it, before grabbing his leg and pulling off balance, allowing the second kunai to meet his chest. He fell immediately to the floor as his life was stolen from him; Sakura wasted no time in kicking in the door to Aijikawa's room and rushing in to spot the soles of his feet disappearing into a small – apparently built in tunnel of his room.

Leaping across the distance, she grabbed his ankle, although the lights were dim, Sakura's spatial awareness was expert for all her years of training as she yanked back on his leg.

He was a strong man – himself having been trained as shinobi – although he was mediocre at best, even on her worst day, Sakura could easily best him; even so, it was no reason to underestimate him. A worm like Aijikawa was all the more likely to use underhanded and dishonourable methods to win a fight, which made him all the more dangerous.

Using her chakra enhanced strength, she ripped his leg back, forcing him back out into the open, although he wasn't completely unprepared and Sakura managed to avoid serious injury, but nonetheless, fighting with a wound always put her at a disadvantage – and she didn't have time to waste.

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><p>Taiki held his ground as a number of the syndicate's lackeys rushed towards him; organizing his chakra, as well as a few kunai (pre-looped and interconnected with wire), his innate sense of timing told him that he had only another ten minutes until he needed to detonate the secondary explosions but he also could wait a few more seconds for his opponents to come within range.<p>

Throwing the kunai at the same time he leapt forward flicking his hands through the correct seals, he moulded his chakra and held it in his chest for a moment, until the kunai he'd thrown deflected off a patch of metal work in the opposite rock face and circled around to stick into the opposite wall.

This effectively boxed in a large group of men and at the same time, he expelled his chakra which had been recomposed to resemble fire in a huge Goukakkyuu no jutsu. The men at the front were almost incinerated instantly where as those towards the back were still severely burnt but still alive, taking the opportunity to leap in, Taiki unsheathed his sword and leapt in to finished off the remains of those alive and the more skilled who'd avoided it entirely, whilst dodging the kunai being thrown at him.

He could see other men in, in their efforts to defend their base, rushing off to where his long-time friend and teammate, Akihiko, was; not really having the time to watch his friend fight, Taiki quickly formed the seals for a kage-bunshin. As the clone appeared, it immediately set about throwing more kunai combined with wires to again trap the few remaining men in. Some of whom were highly skilled and his clone was soon demolished, but not before it had given Taiki the time he needed.

Forming the complex seals swiftly, he raised his arm into the air as he sprung forward as – as his body accumulated the electric charge – he clamped his hand onto an opponent's arm and sending a bolt of electricity through her high enough to kill the kuniochi stone dead in less than a second.

"Hiraishin no jutsu! [Sparking electric needles]" As he leaped out of the way of one of the other shinobi's attacks and twisted around to present him with his own kick before leaping back and dragging out a fist full of shuriken, he checked his watch to see that he needed to set off the second set of explosions.

Twisting back to throw three of the shuriken at his current opponent, which hit their mark enough to slow him down and injure but weren't enough to kill as he turned back to throw the final one up towards his mark of a kibakufuda set high on the rock face. He watched his shuriken sail on the right trajectory but as it reached half way, something deflected it – a kunai; flicking his eyes over to the offender. He was a very well-armed man who hadn't a (fresh) scratch on him, he held a windmill shuriken in his left hand and a large club in his right,

"You will deal with me first," His voice meant only business and Taiki, easily able to sense the power in him could only mutter one thing, as he flicked a Hyourou Gan [soldier pill] into his mouth:

"Oh shit,"

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><p>Kakashi was quite tired of playing cat and mouse with his opponent; he'd been tracking him for a few weeks and – although the man himself presented relatively little challenge, he sure knew how to use others to his advantage. Because Kakashi's presence in Ame territory was, by all means, illegal, he couldn't risk revealing himself as a Konoha shinobi – on what was essentially a bounty hunt. He needed to get the target alone as any fight would involve chakra use and any shinobi in the area would be immediately alerted.<p>

His target seemed to know this and made a point of staying in relative proximity to either other Amegakure shinobi or heavy Ame loyals - who generally tended to be the most nationalistic and offer strong opposition to foreign shinobi. The only up-side to all his pussy-footing was the fact that Kakashi had gathered enough evidence to clear any lingering doubt (of anyone anywhere in the world) about the guilt of this guy.

It had been an incredibly long and tiresome few weeks for Kakashi, his opponent was an average shinobi (with one or two areas within which he demonstrated exceptional skill – although they were still not enough to outstrip the Copy Nin himself) however, he _was_ a great tactician and knew how to stay just one step ahead. Or at least, remain just beyond Kakashi's reach which, for the delicate situation of the illegal shinobi, was as good as not at all.

The Jounin watched carefully as his target traced the streets down in one of the satellite villages to Amegakure – Kakashi knew that it wouldn't be too difficult to set traps in the room he was currently staying in – but the man's current movements suggested he was preparing to move on again. Kakashi still couldn't be entirely sure if the man was aware of his pursuer – he seemed to act as if he _did_ know, but there was many tell-tale signs missing.

Firstly, his movements were easily predictable – his movements over Ame territory were methodical and told Kakashi that he too seemed to be gathering information and items – leaving his contacts obvious. Kakashi had made a note on everyone he'd had contact with and his next visit, if the pattern held, would be to join a caravan which led up to Kusa territory – this did seem a little odd – a smart enough criminal wanted by Fire and Earth wouldn't trap himself between the two nations.

Having dressed himself in civilian clothing, he finally ventured right down to make contact with his target as he suppressed his chakra and stuffed his silver hair into a cap, he wandered diminutively down the lane which led him to towards his target. As he wandered more into plain view, although tucked into the crowd he watched very carefully as the target walked up to the stall where he could by a pass to be a passenger.

Something was very bothersome about the situation – but Kakashi couldn't quite decide _why_ something seemed off, he pushed through the crowd and get a little closer to hear what he was saying, coming to stand just to the left of his target when a flash of pink caught his eye. Twisting to get a better look, he saw a pink head of hair, _Sakura?_

"Ooh, pink… Ain't seen one of them for a while,"

"Hmm?" Keeping his cool, he turned to face his target who was also looking at the woman – _she was nowhere near Sakura in likeness; the hair's too harsh for starters_; "A fan of the exotic?" The target kept looking at the woman as Kakashi snuck a glance at his ticket _Tanigakure_ [Hidden Valley village] and the one beneath was for Kusa;

"Well, yea… But there aren't no natural pinks and I don't like women who don't match if you know what I mean," _Yes there are and better looking than that woman too_, but before Kakashi could register his thought, his target turned away, "I gotta go… see you,"

"Yea," Kakashi looked absently as he hastily bought a ticket for both Kusa and Tani as well, before he slipped away to another vantage point to observe the man and see which of the caravans to either village he was planning on heading to first. Kakashi's mind began working on a way to separate his target from the caravan once they were safely out of the small Ame village and preferably, out of Ame territory all together.


	6. Chapter 6

I apologise of all of this seems predicable, but I did have trouble with these two chapters... Things should improve here on out... Though I'll have to ask for you patience...

Also: Whoever left the last (really long) review, thanks for your comments! I've gone back through and corrected the mistakes, thanks for taking the time to review!

To everyone else: I think its obvious by now that this will be muh longer than a three-parter, not sure when it will end, but I suppose that's a little inconsequential...

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 6: Will Find Its Way To The Sea_

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><p>Trying to keep her breathing under control, Sakura nearly collapsed as she was about two minutes to the first meeting point; she managed to get Aijikawa under a genjutsu so that she didn't have to carry him. Unfortunately, he realized after about seven kilometres and broke out – after another swift fight she managed to knock him right out and was forced to carry him.<p>

She was grateful for the rest as she would be able to heal the minor but troublesome wounds she'd collected; Aijikawa had proved tricky to subdue but not impossible, although as a result, the a number of shallow flesh wounds bled profusely.

More guards had appeared as she was trying to escape, although there weren't too many, it sapped time and chakra she couldn't really afford to lose – thankfully, she managed to dispatch – or at least incapacitated them well enough with a Goukakkyuu. She had escaped in the confusion but she couldn't relax – not really – until she was back within the borders of Fire, however that could be anything up to a week away.

Sakura couldn't sense anybody in pursuit but that didn't mean they weren't there; for now, though all she could do was focus on her present task – making it to the first meet point.

Taiki had been late in detonating the second set of explosives and he'd be getting one hell of an earful later, but it hadn't been the worst case scenario – and she knew that he did eventually detonate as he was supposed to; hence, all she wanted now was to know that they were all safe and had completed the mission – the scolding could wait. As she nearly stumbled around the corner, she sprang into action knowing that she wasn't alone although she ended up dropping Aijikawa at the same time;

"Captain," _Raiden_

"Did you get the papers?"

"Yes… You got Aijikawa I take it," He smiled as he leant down to pull the man's dead weight out of view and against a rock face,

"How long have you been waiting here?"

"About an hour and a twenty… I was out of there before even the second set of explosions went off," Sakura nodded as she fell to a seat, pulling out her water bottle and swigging deeply; "Who was late on the second set of explosions?"

"Taiki, but from what I could tell it was still just as effective and everything was either destroyed or still crumbling as I took off… I'll wait until we're all home safely before I scold him," Raiden allowed a breath of laughter to escape as he too took a seat in front of, but to the left of a still unconscious Aijikawa;

"How are we going to transport this one all the way –_back_?"

"I put him under genjutsu as we ran, but he noticed and cancelled it after a few kilometres… He's not the most skilled but he'll no doubt try something underhanded if anything at all," She sighed as she stretched out her arms before scratching at her scalp.

Due to her rather more… _exotic_ features, she couldn't risk anyone spotting the distinctive one of her hair and so had to pack it into a hat before being covered by a hood; all of the layers on her (quite substantial hair) whilst in desert like conditions and having to run with a dead weight made her very hot and sweaty – and therefore a touch irritable. If their prisoner made any trouble, he would be getting _no_ mercy.

"We'll leave in an hour and a half – we'll stick to your three hour schedule, Raiden, I want to get as far away from Stone as quickly as possible before we stop,"

"Hai,"

"Dawn will be coming up soon… We can't afford to attract too much attention to ourselves but the mountains which draw down the Wind/River border will provide us with good cover… If we can make it down to the where the tree line begins once we come to Rain/Wind border it will be much easier as well." They rested for a little while longer, as Sakura healed up her wounds and the few Raiden had collected; she wanted to leaf through the papers he collected, but it was useless without any light with which to see and so she was forced simply to wait it out until they could move off again and make camp in more hospitable lands.

After the agreed time had elapsed – and Aijikawa had awoken – they prepared to move off; they dragged him to his feet and tied his arms together so that he could run. If they hadn't gagged him, Sakura imagined that only the most colourful insults would be used for them – he seemed to lean quickly, that if he didn't run then he'd be dragged. This was more of a bluff – simply because neither shinobi particularly relished the idea of carrying him – but thankfully, even he would rather have run than the ulterior option.

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><p>Akihiko hadn't faired too badly with his battles after the destruction of the Syndicate's hideout, he'd been faced with far fewer enemies than Taiki, but he had been forced to face an exceptionally tough Jounin class shinobi. The fight had been long and difficult, trying to counter a high-class katon [fire] user with his own suuiton [water] and doton [earth] elements whilst dodging falling rocks and random kunai and shuriken had taken immense concentration and chakra.<p>

As a result, the ANBU had suffered a harsh burn over his left hip and thigh which was hindering him significantly; however, what concerned him the most was the fact he hadn't seen a trace of Taiki since the second set of explosions almost two and a half hours ago.

Akihiko had, eventually managed to escape his enemy after a careful use of an exploding clay clone, which managed to force his enemy to leap back away from the blast site and so got caught by other falling debris from a well-timed kibakufuda. Although he'd seen his enemy fall backwards amid the rocky debris, he couldn't be sure that he'd been killed; nonetheless, he knew that he'd have no time to waste in escaping and hence, had taken the opportunity to flee from the area, knowing that it would be the death of him if he didn't.

As he ran, heading south down the gorge, knowing that he'd most likely be able to circle back around towards the initial meeting point later, he was concerned about Taiki. He spotted Raiden escaping – although he hadn't seen the Captain do the same, but he was certain that she'd be able to look after herself as there were countless escape routes. But he'd had just enough of a vantage point to see Taiki end up having to face another enemy, when he was supposed to have detonated the second mines.

Taking over, Akihiko had managed to set off what Taiki hadn't been able to and in doing so had left himself open for an attack by the Jounin. As he checked his watch, it was coming up to twenty past six in the morning and the sun had already risen and Akihiko felt fairly certain that if Raiden, Sakura or Taiki had made it to the check-point, that they would have already have moved on. Or at least, would have done by the time he got there; his hip and leg must have suffered greater damage than he'd anticipated and his movements were painfully slow – literally – for him.

He knew that he had to be six or so kilometres from the meet point at the very least – considering he'd already had to take an alternative and indirect route; he, for now, could only hope that everyone was in a better state than he – or, if not, already had the Captain by their side healing them. He couldn't sense anyone in the immediate vicinity but he felt certain that as soon as they were able, the survivors would be tracking them down – he needed to escape and regroup (even if it had to be only with himself) before he could seriously fight another enemy.

Once he'd had the opportunity to deal with his injury as best he could and time to organize a plan of action, he would be able to cope with any remaining stragglers who came after him. He'd have plenty of options to mislead any pursuers if he still wasn't able to initially fight effectively. It was still only a few hours after the attack and if any of his team mates had had already reached and exceeded the time limit for the first stop, then it was unlikely they'd reach the second point before nightfall – especially if they were injured or carrying (or dragging) a reluctant Aijikawa.

He still had _time _to meet up with his teammates and enlist their help if things got dire, although it shouldn't come to that, he'd been in worse situations and he wasn't ANBU for nothing.

* * *

><p>The caravan had paused about half an hour ago for the night; the terrain was rough and difficult to navigate even on a dry day but a persistent rain had followed them from Ame and drenched everything in sight. Kakashi had kept an exceptionally close eye on his target; he was also pleased to see that – at least in the coach they were travelling in had no other shinobi. As they came to a halt, Kakashi very carefully prepared a genjutsu and as his target stepped away from a few other people to light up a cigarette, Kakashi struck.<p>

Forming the seals in the blink of an eye he cast one of his most subtle jutsus, making the target merely think that he needed to go to the toilet; thankfully his response was only to swear mildly under his breath as he walked off into the trees. Kakashi, having to fully utilize all of his years of experience, due to the number of pairs of eyes around, to follow him subtly out of sight, before he pulled out a hidden kunai and advanced on the man.

He dispelled the genjutsu just as the man came to a halt and he span around, clapping eyes on the previously seemingly innocuous man lifting an arm to throw a kunai at him. Swearing again and allowing his cigarette to fall from his mouth, which hissed in protest at the sodden ground, he managed to dodge the kunai before he leapt away into the trees; Kakashi shifted his eye-patch to follow his target with his sharingan as he rushed of after him, pulled out another kunai and attached a loop of wire.

No doubt his target thought it better to try and loose Kakashi than run back to the caravan and draw attention to himself or any authorities who might know of his criminal tendencies.

The man was in acceptable physical condition considering his lack of formal training (and habit as a smoker) and Kakashi was forced merely to keep up with him until he could get a clean shot due to the rain and thick foliage. He kept up his tail for more than a mile until he could see that the mountainous region which sat comfortably over the border of Wind and River would soon be coming up and the trees would begin to thin, allowing Kakashi a clear shot enough to incapacitate rather than kill his long pursued target.

Even as Kakashi ran at high speed, his awareness of his surroundings never faltered and his nose detected the (to him) thick smell of smoke but there was… _something else;_ it was much more faint, so much so, Kakashi was almost tempted to pull his mask down to check that it _was_ what he thought.

…

Sakura poked the fire lightly as she stared absently at it, the past three days had been long and extremely tiring; Aijikawa resisted them as best he could by running purposefully slowly – just enough to slow them down but not enough that he would end up getting dragged over the ground. They had encountered suspiciously little trouble as they moved and Sakura had a rather nasty feeling that if any of the higher class shinobi present hadn't been killed, then they were following and waiting to discover the identities and origin of their attackers.

Sakura, Raiden and Aijikawa had made it to the second meeting point earlier in the day (after having more than once purposefully made then take a random turn off to try and throw any followers off their trail). There had been no sign of Akihiko or Taiki since the explosions. Still, they had another two days to wait at this location and Sakura could only hope that they would show up not too much the worse for wear.

Even if some of the syndicate's members had survived, with Aijikawa and the documents Raiden had stolen, they wouldn't be able to do much other than hide and hope no one recognised them. Sakura looked over her shoulder at the unconscious – sleeping – form of Aijikawa, he was still securely tied and had been for the entirely of the journey; he'd tried to summon his chakra but it wasn't enough to counteract Raiden's chakra running through and steeling the rope against all but the sharpest of kunai.

A sudden presence caught her attention as her hand went for a shuriken in the pouch at her hip, as she could sense a chakra presence to him, but he was making too much noise to be attempting stealth. Raiden seemed to notice the presence as well for he shifted up and remained seated, but was poised to leap into action at a moment's notice. Sakura could hear one of the kunai traps being set off and sharp hiss of pain which told her that there must be someone with a touch of skill to avoid being killed by her trap.

There was nothing about she and Raiden which looked immediately threatening, however, despite the presence of traps and combined with the fact whoever it was had set off one of them, it was highly unlikely that the intruder was an elite. Looking innocent, Sakura had found, got her a hell of a long way despite evidence surrounding her to the contrary. Judging by this, and the fact that Sakura wanted to avoid both a fight and drawing unnecessary attention to themselves as much as possible, she decide to wait and assess the situation after she'd set eyes on him.

A few seconds later a man appeared to have leapt down from a tree branch looking mildly surprise to see them, his lower leg sporting a large blood patch as the sign of his encounter with the kunai, the fire had been mostly hidden from view as best they were able, but it still gave off a lot of light which was highly noticeable even in trees as dense as these.

Perhaps if he were a little smarter, he would have noticed a pair of unmoving feet behind the two sat around a small fire, but apparently, his fear overruled his ability to assess a situation,

"H-help me! You have to help me! A crazy man is after me and I think he wants to kill me!"

"Oh? Who, pray tell, is this 'crazy man'?" Sakura could suddenly sense a familiar presence and chakra in the area, she resisted the urge to smile to herself,

"I don't know! He just came out of nowhere!"

"Well, how about you come and sit here and if her stops by, we'll fight him off," Sakura rose to her feet and in a flash of movement, cast a quick sleep-jutsu which knocked the man soundlessly out cold, catching him as he fell, she looked up to the man who'd appeared out of the trees;

"Is this yours, Kakashi?"

"As a matter of fact he is," He looked completely cool, calm and in control –even though all of the evidence pointed to the contrary; he yanked on the now unconscious target out of Sakura's grasp and let him down to the floor before the silver haired shinobi began to bind his hands and feet,

"It isn't like you to allow an opponent to escape, what happened?" He rose again to his feet but looked undecided as to whether he was about to shoot off or remain;

"Nothing directly difficult, just awkward circumstances," Sakura nodded slightly, not sure what she was next supposed to say as she turned back to sit by the warming fire, the healer in her told her to invite Kakashi to dry off a little by the fire as he looked soaked to the bone. The other, majority part of her wanted to send him on his way as quickly as possible due to the fact that she had never felt so awkward around him as she did now – it was to be expected she supposed considering the first and last time she'd really spoken to the man in more than two odd years had been one nasty argument.

"Are you in the middle of a mission?" Kakashi made sure to keep his voice as cool and impassive as ever to mask his surprise, having not expected to run into her _here_ of all damn places – when both, it seemed, were equally unprepared to deal with each other;

"In the process of returning home, actually," She didn't look up at him, but her voice held only sincerity and calmness – but did he even have an adequate idea of her acting skills? For the higher class of shinobi they were, in many senses mandatory, but Kakashi found himself disliking the idea that she would slip into it so easily with him, as though he were just another allied shinobi.

He was about to open his mouth to speak his rejoinder when the slight pattering of raindrops suddenly intensified and more of them made their way through the still relatively thick canopy; Sakura picked up a woven shield of thick leaves which she laid out over the top of the fire. It sat a good few feet above it, made of moist but water resistant leaves balancing between the windbreak and a low branch of a nearby tree; it was high enough not to catch alight with the fire small and sunk into the ground a little,

"Kakashi, you might as well join us for a bit and dry off as best you can," Her voice was still slightly business-like, but then he couldn't really blame her – it wasn't as if she could read his mind (or his mostly covered face) and nor were they friends.

"Thank you… I'll stay until the rain eases if I may," She merely nodded in return as he now felt it acceptable to turn the conversation to a lighter, but not necessarily more personal, topic. He had to admit, he was slightly irritated that her apparent teammate was present for it meant that he couldn't apologise or speak frankly with her as he wished to. Kakashi easily lifted the still dead weight of his target and set him closer to the fire and to prop him against a tree before he took a seat at the remaining available space next to the other ANBU;

"I see you have also taken a captive…"

"Hai, he was the primary objective of our mission," Kakashi pulled off his cap allowing his silver hair to flop back into its natural position, dragging hand through it, he immediately felt more relaxed next to a fire and with his target captured.

"Are you leaving here tomorrow?"

"No, not just yet," Sakura finally looked up from the fire, "Raiden, will you go and reset the trap which he triggered? And see to the other traps whilst you're there."

"Hai, Taichou," He rose immediately to his feet and disappeared into the brush; Sakura scooted closer Jounin, allowing her voice to drop to an almost inaudible whisper, "I assume that you'll be heading immediately back to the village with him?" she gestured to the unconscious target of Kakashi's

"That's right,"

"We're on a sensitive mission and our identities as Leafs must _not_ be discovered; as you make your way back, please keep an eye out for potential pursuers and eliminate them before you make to back to Fire,"

"That won't be easy,"

"Nothing fun ever is," She wasn't looking at him but he could hear the subtle quip in her tone, bring a twitch to his lips, "Apparently our luck has been twice spared for the fact you're not in your typical gear,"

"How long will you be remaining here?"

"Another two days, two of my teammates are still no-shows and we prearranged to meet here within a three day window,"

"Aah; have some faith in me, Sakura-chan, you should know it's impossible to track a tracker," She immediately scooted away back to her original seat as Raiden reappeared; Kakashi felt the loss of her proximity keenly, although he wasn't sure how to interpret it.

"I was just asking you keep aware,"

"When am I not?" Sakura felt tempted to say that she's seen him unaware plenty of times – like when he was barely alive for example, but she doubted that would be a helpful response so instead, turned her attention to her subordinate.

"Anything?"

"All other traps were as constructed and not interfered with;"

"Good get some rest, I'll wake you up for your shift," He nodded swiftly and returned to the where he _had_ been peacefully resting before the fellow Leaf turned up – even if it was the great Hatake Kakashi, Raiden had spent too many days with too little sleep and all he really wanted was to catch more than three hours straight. He frankly didn't even care as much as he probably should have, that he was getting partially rained upon as the lure of sleep was a powerful one.

Kakashi waited until he felt sure that her subordinate had fallen asleep before he spoke again,

"Sakura… I'll leave in a little while as I think the rains easing but… When you get back, there are a few things I'd like to discuss with you,"

"Oh?" He knew that tone of voice very well, it was exactly the one he used whenever he could guess that he was about to be asked to do something he didn't want to or when he could tell that he was about to be put in an extremely awkward position;

"Yes, I can't discuss them with you here but they are very important… I'm…not angry with you, but I think things need to be discussed, don't they?"

"Hmm," She turned her head to look at him fully, even though her face was bathed in the jittery firelight, Kakashi found that he still struggled to read her expression – which seemed all the more bizarre because nothing about her posture of facial expression suggested that she was closing him off. He held her silence for a few more minutes but she spoke before long,

"Alright… I anticipate that we'll be back within four days but I'm sure you'll know one way or the other very quickly,"

He couldn't resist a smile at her agreement; it occurred to him that she wouldn't be very impressed with the second topic of conversation (his first being an apology). He knew that it could well end up back-firing but he wanted to try, if he could smooth over their current rocky, cold and unfamiliar exchanges, then it would work to his, her and Konoha's benefit.

Even if she refuses to train with him personally, then maybe it will go a long way to making them more than strangers to each other, which, for some reason, had begun to bother Kakashi.

Although here and now, he didn't feel hidden maliciousness or hatred from her – rather than just a wide emotional distance (which wasn't particularly odd for them) but Kakashi found this encouraging. Despite the intensity and antagonism of their last exchange, it would appear she didn't hate (or fear) him and considering his reaction either or both would have been understandable.

However he _was_ curious to know what her thought process was; she had stuck him, in her later teenage years and a logical and analytical woman, but then again, he had never really known Sakura as a woman – only as student and later as a subordinate although she was still much a child then.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for the delay in publishing - and I really hope that this isn't too angsty - I wanted it to be heartfelt and thoughtful (you'll know what I mean when you get to it) rather than angsty in any sense ... Still, hope you like it! ^-^

Also: Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to review! Your support really means a lot and I'm amazed how many people like this story! XD

Damn annonymous reviews, I wish I could respond to everyone who's reviewed! Still, thank you guys! ^-^

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 7: Ripples Through The Reflection_

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><p>Kakashi had made it back to the village and dropped off his (often complaining and beyond irritating) charge; he could, thankfully, now begin to relax. However, he had to admit that it wasn't quite as fitful as he might have liked, due to the unexpected but enlightening encounter with Sakura. He <em>was<em> surprised at how amiable she'd been with him and he found that he genuinely couldn't quite figure out the reason why – there was a part of him which found the idea of her being such a mystery to him rather enticing.

But logic told him that whilst his primary objective, when he next spoke to her, was to apologise, having no grasp, even in the slightest, of what she may be thinking would only cause trouble. He needed, primarily, at least, be able to guess how she might respond to any given thing he could say – then he will be able to guess what would be a spectacularly stupid thing to say.

After all, he was, in many ways, looking to creep back into her life and train with her now that he's found something of interest; whilst most people work this way (although generally unacknowledged either by themselves or the other party) it seemed far more harsh when he thought about how to explain his desire to train with her again.

Through the process of apologising (and explaining, to her, his actions), they might build enough of a rapport that he could then ease into the conversation about space-time ninjutsu, without it appearing as something out of the blue.

Or as though he was just looking to use her for his own ends.

His intuition told him that suddenly appearing and wanting to discuss, and then get involved, in a personal project of hers, which he'd nosed in on whilst invading her home to prepare for an argument, was probably not the wisest way to go.

As Kakashi lay on his sofa in the early evening light, a sudden thought occurred to him causing him to bolt upright and feel certain that he would be able to glean some much needed information about the kuniochi, which would help when it next came to speaking with her. He would have to be judicious with the coming conversation, but that was why the bar would be the most suitable location: for its relaxed atmosphere (and it certainly helped that his target's stomach was weak for sake).

Kakashi couldn't help but feel a stab of jealousy when he thought that his target was highly likely to protect Sakura, be it purposefully or inadvertently, if he thought that Kakashi's intention or actions would end up hurting her. What had happened that his own long ago Genin student, who was now such a stranger to him, that he is now forced to ask his _rival_ – a man who used to occasionally frighten and slightly disturb Sakura – for information on the woman she currently is.

He really needed to talk to Gai and he could only hope that the man would be in a cooperative and understanding mood.

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><p>Sakura only just had time to dodge a windmill shuriken as it struck the ground and a smoke-bomb attached burst, reducing her visibility to zero; thinking fast and organizing her chakra faster, she pounded her fist to the ground. As she heard a gasp of surprise – which definitely wasn't Raiden's voice – she began to prepare her chakra as she threw a kunai, with kibakufuda attached, at two and ten o'clock. She herself moving off to the two o'clock position, still covered by the cloud of smoke, she waited for a retaliation strike which came at from the correct angle she'd assumed.<p>

As soon as her jutsu was complete, she circled around the edge of the smoke whilst creating a kage-bunshin which leapt ahead of her, but off to the side as Sakura herself began to form the hand seals for her Arijigoku no jutsu [inescapable hell]. Her kage-bunshin was right on time, as Sakura could see from her current vantage point exactly where her enemy was, the clone expelled a great Goukakkyuu no jutsu which forced the enemy – unbeknownst to him – towards the real Sakura who'd just completed her doton jutsu.

To make sure he succumbed to her Arijigoku no jutsu, hurled a shuriken with a length of wire attached at the man, it looped around his neck and she dragged him backwards into the swirling quick-sand like pit. He was despatched quickly and Sakura dispelled her kage-bunshin before she turned around to spot Aijikawa in the process of escaping. Raiden was just about to drive a kunai through his opponent's chest and so Sakura focused her full attention upon the escaping prisoner.

She ran towards him whilst throwing a chakra laden punch to the ground which would have tripped the man over, had he not chosen that precise moment to leap up onto a tree branch; growling in irritation slightly, Sakura picked up her pace and was swift to catch up to Aijikawa. She reached into her pouch and withdrew a length of chakra enhanced rope, which possessed a weight at one end.

Her years of training mean that Sakura's body almost instinctively knew precisely how much force with which to spin the rope before releasing it and allowing it to seemingly snap around the man's legs, dragging him down to a nasty landing on the forest floor. Sakura was swift with her follow up, casting a genjutsu over him.

It wasn't her nastiest, not by a long shot, but it was still enough to cripple those of a less than robust disposition, he gave a shrill scream as whatever disgusted him the most, presumably, attacked him in some way. They really were the most effective jutsus – those which turned the shinobi against himself; still, Sakura didn't have time to waste as she span around to see Raiden finishing off his opponent.

"You alright?"  
>"Hai, Taichou… Yourself?"<p>

"Been better, but god_damn_ they really could have chosen a better time to attack," She walked back over, dragging the still wriggling and sobbing form of Aijikawa with her;

"Heh, it probably _was_ a good time for them,"

"Yea…the bastards. They were pretty tough, I hope they haven't taken out Akihiko and Taiki, although he'd probably have made mention of it, if he had," Sakura began to collect up her sebon and shuriken.

"Don't worry, Captain, it takes a lot to bring them down,"

"Hmm, I just wish I knew whether they were on their way or if they got taken down back at the hideout," Sakura quickly made a check through of her final provisions and began to disassemble one of the traps their attackers hadn't triggered or taken apart.

They were due to leave in an hour or two (even though Akihiko and Taiki still hadn't made an appearance) when two pursuers, from the gorge, presumably, had either caught up or decided to attack and rescue their leader. Unfortunately, there were hardly a match for elite – even by ANBU standards – and without any benefit on numbers, they were swiftly dispatched; though not without the expenditure of _more_ stamina and chakra

Although they were shinobi, they weren't much above Chuunin level, Sakura guessed, judging by the speed of their reaction times and their ability to conceal their presence. Still, the only thing Sakura could find to be grateful for was the fact that it had stopped raining.

"Raiden, it's time for us to move off,"

"What?" Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly, and although her face was covered, Raiden knew her well enough,

"I know, but we had an agreed meeting time and they still have not made contact nor have they made the point, we're still under cover and we can't afford to draw any more attention to ourselves by going and looking for them over such a wide area. The best thing we can do now is return to Konoha and get this lug off our hands, then, if necessary, we can form a search party and return for them,"

Sakura spoke only logic but it was still difficult to swallow, it wasn't easy to fathom leaving behind teammates – brothers, essentially, in order to save himself; Sakura dispelled the genjutsu and hauled the spluttering man to his feet,

"Hai, Taichou," Raiden formed a swift katon and touched his hands to the bodies of their enemies burning them to ashes in seconds,

"Don't worry, Raiden, it would take a lot for them to be killed or captured, they could just be resting and hiding form pursuers,"

They finished organising themselves and eliminated all trace that they'd ever been there and set off on a swift pace towards Fire, skirting the Ame/Kawa border; it took them less than a day to cross over into Fire and Sakura had made absolutely certain that they hadn't been followed. Thankful to be back in home territory, Sakura was marginally eased by it although her mind was still aware of the fact she'd had no word from her other teammates, speaking of which…

Just as Sakura landed on a branch with Aijikawa next to her, a small bird tweeted from the branch above her, holding out her arm it hopped down and Sakura picked at the small clasp on its leg, pulling out the note,

"What is it, Captain?"

"Taiki and Akihiko… They're alright, forced to take a detour apparently, they expected to reach the meeting point on time but were forced into Wind territory,"

"Oh, thank _kami_!" Raiden breathed a large sigh of relief to hear his friends are safe and only delayed, Sakura wrote a swift, although on-descript response and sent the bird away to find them. She, herself, couldn't help but smile to know the remnants of her team is safe and on the return journey; composing herself, she tugs on the rope binding Aijikawa, signalling that they will be moving off, and both ANBU moved at a faster pace than they had done before.

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><p>Kakashi walked slowly through the dark, evening streets of Konoha, it was quite – as typical – most civilians were thankfully, generally placid and didn't make too much noise. He'd been at the bar talking to Gai; his old friend disappointingly un-forthcoming with the information he was craving.<p>

Perhaps, somewhere, Kakashi couldn't quite blame him, perhaps, if he'd taken on a student for special training after a previous sensei had failed them, he too would be protective. _If_ he'd had the chance.

As his feet took him slowly towards his typical mediation spot, he ran over the past few hours with his friend, in his mind, silently hoping that he'd missed _something_ in the noise and stuffiness of the bar that would come back to him now.

_'Gai! I'm surprised to see you in here,' He made sure to keep his voice cool and noncommittal, it would be far too weird for him to be looking for the green beast – better to allow him to dish out the invitation,_

_'Ah, Kakashi! My eternal rival! You are indeed right that I do not regularly frequent an establishment such as this, however, I have the next few days off and I have been worried about my students,' _

_'Oh? Are they alright? Lee-kun is still away, is he not?' Kakashi stood, with his book dropped and his eye focussed on the taijutsu master, who was sat at a small table towards the back of the bar – a small bottle of warm sake in front of him,_

_'Indeed, he is, although he is expected back later this month,' _Perfect,_ Kakashi couldn't resist thinking, _this really will tie in nicely with my attempts to train with Sakura, all the better if Gai isn't as readily available, _Kakashi turned to face his friend a little more fully, a useful, but subtle, display of interest,_

_'That's good, he's been away for some time now, hasn't he?'_

_'Two years and almost four months…my poor Lee has sorely missed the beautiful grace and honour of Konoha,' _

_'Hmm…will you being training with him again, when he returns?' Gai met Kakashi's eye for a moment, something in the green beast's look warned Kakashi that he was not as opaque as he would have liked to be;_

_'Kakashi, are you joining me for a drink or would you prefer to offer me clear headed counsel?' Kakashi paused for a moment, expertly hiding his wariness, he couldn't back out now, anyway,_

_'Will you still be here when I return?' _

_'You would think me so dishonourable?' Kakashi shook his head, not having to fake a gentle smile,_

_'Of course not...same again?' Kakashi wandered away, pocketing his book before Gai could respond; the silver-haired Jounin brought him another drink, anyway;_

_'Thank you, my dear friend,' Kakashi pours himself a drink, having taken the adjacent seat to Gai, his visible eye able to scan most of the bar from his current position, they remain in silence, for a few minutes,_

_'So?'_

_'So, what?' Gai looks at him in mild confusion,_

_'Lee-kun, will you be training with him again?' _

_'Ah, Lee…yes I suppose I will be – when I have time, I must still stick to my schedule with the vibrant Sakura!' _

_'Eh? You still need to train her? I would have thought she'd be good enough by now,' Gai scowled slightly, knocking back his shot of sake before answering,_

_'Good enough? How dare you, she is brilliant! But I _enjoy_ training with Sakura, she was an excellent student and is now a formidable opponent,' _

_'Aah,' Yes, he knew about the excellent student part, 'Was she the 'other student' you mentioned?' _

_'Yes…I'm worried that her team is still not back from their mission… Considering how long it's been, it was no doubt highly-dangerous,' Gai sipped his next cupful more slowly, thoughtfully,_

_'Don't you have faith in her? I'm sure she'll be fine if she's as formidable as you say,' Kakashi responded cooly, unsure why Gai seemed so worried about her when he spoke so highly of the kuniochi,_

_'There is nothing wrong in caring for a friend, Kakashi, no matter how competent you think them or how skilled they are,' _

_'Hmm,' He supposed - no Gai _was_ right, when was the last time he'd done a team-related mission? Too long; when was the last time he knew when a friend was away and found himself concerned at their absence? Far too long; he stopped worrying – genuinely – long ago, it would have killed him to continue then,_

_'How long has it been since you last spoke with her, Kakashi?' He probably doesn't mean argue – probably wouldn't be pleased to hear about it, either,_

_'A few days ago, I ran into her on a mission – pure coincidence – though we didn't…_say_ much,' Kakashi took another swift sip of sake, Gai eyed him critically, _

_'Before then? When was the last time you purposefully had a conversation with her?'_

_'I don't remember,' This hits a nerve he didn't intent – one of his own, when was the last time he spoke to Sakura willingly, for a conversation rather than to issue orders or to brief a situation?_

_'Sometimes, Kakashi, I am forced to wonder if she was ever your student at all…' _Ouch,

_'What do you mean?' Although a sting to his pride, he couldn't resist his curiosity on this one – what exactly did Gai mean?_

_'Her style was very unique. Whenever I watched Naruto or Sasuke fight – forgive me for bringing them up – it was easy to see your influence upon them, Naruto a little more subtle, for the difference between you and his tutelage under Jiraiya-sama, but it was there._

_'Whenever I watched Sakura, though, in her movements – whether tai or ninjutsu, I struggled to see any of your influence – I knew some had to be there for her days under your supervision but there were – at most – flashes, as though she'd seen how you tackled a problem and knew it to be the best way around, so mimicked.' Gai took another sip, Kakashi half expected him to continue but only the dull background chatter of the bar is heard; it forms its own sort of silence, another layer to the atmosphere._

_A part of him wants to spew out futile excuses, 'she's a girl', 'I never personally trained her', 'she was under the Godaime's supervision' – but they all point to Gai's accuracy and his failure,_

_'Does she fight as you would, now, then?'_

_'Sakura excels at adaptation,' Kakashi isn't even sure how to begin a response – what sort of a response could he possibly form?_

_'Gai-'_

_'Training students is, by no means, an easy task…there were times I could not, for the life of me, understand Tenten or where her motivation lay, truly, especially when I felt that either Neji or Lee needed my guidance or that I felt a greater kinship to them…but when I promised myself I would not be a coward or take the easy way out and ignore her, I found it was not as difficult as I had imagined in my mind._

_'I made it impossibly difficult, in my mind, and so ended up steeling myself against it – and her – before I had truly assessed the situation – and Tenten – so I could not, honestly, be her teacher. Later, I found her often an easier pupil to guide and more willing to listen than Neji – and to understand; Tenten was not the alien or enigma I had unfairly painted her to be – and neither was Sakura,' _

_Kakashi found himself speechless._

_Gai knocked back his final cupful of sake and rose to his feet,_

_'It was good to speak with you again, my friend, but I must now go to bed… I will see you again soon for another challenge to prove our manliness! Good night,' Kakashi couldn't even find a way to repeat the last two words back to his old friend, as he watched the man walk out of the bar and into the cool night air._

He'd remained in the bar for some time after, digesting the words Gai had spoken; _had_ that been the reason he'd been so avoidant of Sakura in the past? Had he painted her as something 'troublesome' and 'incomprehensible' before he'd even gotten to know her, just because of her gender?

Probably.

Finally feeling the chill, Kakashi allowed a sharp sigh to escape him, he'd never _really_ wanted to be a teacher in the past and in a sense, always saw it as an easy option. When ANBU got to be the wrong side of 'bearable' and he began to feel it in himself that he had to slow down (which, in itself, took time to accept; that needing a break _didn't_ make him a failure), he turned to becoming a sensei.

He'd always assumed it would be easy – aside from the irritation of children – just a matter of passing on knowledge and explaining things combined with supervision.

What a bloody stupid mistake – they weren't reports to write out, or ninken to train. Young, yes, but in need of approval, praise and support – all three of them in different, but no less valid, ways.

_Damn_, he wouldn't blame Sakura if she kicked him out right after he apologised.

He turned to walk away from the stone, back to his apartment and hopefully some tea and sleep – however unlikely or elusive. As he made his way back onto the streets, his mind still whirring with thoughts of his, then, students, he caught a glimpse of pink floating over a roof top.

Tomorrow, it seemed, would be the day he would at least _attempt_ to put things right – or maybe make up for things.

Damn, there always seemed to be something new to regret; _but this, _he promised, _would be something he would _never_ let himself regret – rekindling at least amiability, but hopefully, friendship, between Sakura and himself._

She was, after all, the only one left.


	8. Chapter 8

Title is from Genesis' song: _Land Of Confusion_

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_8. But I Can See The Fires Still Alight_

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><p>Sakura only remembered that she'd made it home when she awoke – still fully clothed – sprawled on her bed; it was relatively early morning and apart from feeling very chilled, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief to be back in her own apartment. Forcing herself up and off her bed, she rubbed her eyes free of sleep and stumbled to her bathroom for a hot shower, hoping it would both clean and relax her.<p>

She and Raiden had made good time back to Konoha and although Aijikawa hadn't made things too easy for them, he was no match for two ANBU and their tempers. They'd arrived very late the night before and, thankfully, Tsunade had only the barest of questions to ask them before dismissing them and requesting Sakura to return with her report the day after this one. Sakura decided that she may as well use her morning to write up the report – although boring, it was unavoidable and arguably the worst aspect to being a high ranking ninja – all the damn paperwork.

Switching off the shower and stepping out to hurriedly dress in her clean, typical Jounin gear (sans the uncomfortable flak jacket) consisting of a form fitting (although slightly loose) top and baggy trousers, both black and a skin-tight, thermal under shirt for warmth. As she began to boil water and set out rice to begin cooking, she organised her report in her head, so that when she came to write it down, the words would already have been given order and logic.

It took a good number of hours to complete her report (they had, after all, spent over two months on their last mission) – even though the crux of the matter had taken place over one night (which was typical). Still, she was glad to drop her pen back to the table and stretch the cramp out of her hand – thank _kami_ she hadn't been assigned as a medic on this mission, or didn't have to provide both reports.

Stretching back in her chair and running her hands through her hair, the scroll flipped itself closed and rolled around on the desk; sighing, she rose to her feet to wash out her cup and bowl before briefly checking her appearance (no need to scare the local residents any more than she occasionally did) and began to tug on her sandals.

Clipping her belt, which held her pouches, to her hips (her kunai pouch had already been tied to her leg), she slipped her mission scroll into one and her other scrolls (containing her research and musings on space-time ninjutsus) into the other; she opened the door and stepped out.

Although the day was cool, thankfully, there wasn't so much as a light breeze. Sakura walked away from the administration building, having dropped of her mission report and answered a few follow up questions from Tsunade (who seemed faintly unimpressed by the fact they'd run into Kakashi, but said nothing about it). As she continued her lazy gait down the street, her path taking her towards the Jounin training grounds on the outskirts of the village, she found herself enjoying the feeling of being so nondescript (apart from the pink hair) whilst also at home.

She took a seat on the grass, initially looking up at the cloudy, but otherwise azure, sky, she had to admit, it felt good to be back in Konoha – she'd missed the greenness and vegetation of her home village whilst being in barren desert for two months. Perhaps it was because whenever she was in Konoha, she was never escaping or pursuing enemies, so the atmosphere of the village always filled her with a sense of peace.

Tugging out one of her scrolls, she unrolled it and re-read over her previous research on space-time ninjutsu – Yondaime Hokage was the only shinobi with any capability in the area – the Uchiha – at least, those who obtained the mangekyou sharingan, were also capable (as is Kakashi), although their form was infinitely different from the Hokage's.

Much to Sakura's irritation, the Uchiha were possibly the most secretive and paranoid clan Konoha had ever been home to; as much as their existence was devoted to becoming exceptional shinobi, an equal amount of time had been dedicated to hiding away the information they'd gleaned. Hence, whatever valuable information on the sharingan, mangekyou and space-time ninjutsu resided, now, only with a non Uchiha – who also happened to be a man she was not on the best terms with.

The Fourth, it seemed had written only a minimum of notes on his Flying Thunder God technique – presumably so, during his era of the third shinobi world war, no enemy would discover it and find a means to counter his jutsu. His technique relied upon seals and – most of which (sealing techniques), Sakura had discovered, relied upon a different form of space-time ninjutsu themselves.

The thought had only occurred to her after she'd read Jiraiya's scroll which had, within it, a sealed Amaterasu flame and likewise to this, kuchiyose [summoning] techniques were also a different form of space-time ninjutsu.

Through her often halting and unsteady travels through the ideas about space-time ninjutsu, Sakura had come to the conclusion that the Yondaime's (and the sort of ninjutsu she herself was aiming to develop) was an intrinsic sort – that affected the body and allowed its physical and temporal point in space to be altered [1].

The Uchiha's space-time jutsus, by contrast, were more _extrinsic_, where they were directed at alternate physical objects and influenced _their_ point is space and time – she'd heard of certain Uchiha techniques such as Susano'o – aggravatingly, again had little more than a mention given and no detail.

This was probably due to Itachi's status as missing-nin and inability or reluctance to create detailed notes for fear of the repercussions and Sasuke…well, if that boy did anything kind or helpful for anyone else, it would have to have been sheer dumb luck or coincidence.

That leaves Kakashi for her only other point of call as far as space-time ninjutsu goes – _goddamnit_.

Sakura issued a loud sigh and rubbed her temples slightly, it was beyond frustrating to be so close to an answer, but just needing one or two more pieces to a puzzle which were out of reach.

As if he'd somehow been reading her mind, a very familiar presence and charka signature made itself known; turning her head half over her shoulder as a sign of acknowledgement, she rolled up the scroll and slipped it back into her pouch, unsure how to broach the topic with him.

"Kakashi…" She didn't hear him, but she didn't need too to know that he was walking up behind her,

"You made it back safely from your mission I see… Did you meet with your missing teammates safely?" She nodded as he walked up and took an uninvited seat next to her,

"In a manner of speaking; they were delayed, but I received a message informing me of their condition,"

"Aah," Sakura leaned back again on her arms and averted her gaze to sky, it felt good to be in an open field, but the silence was grating on her – she really wished that he'd get to the point.

Instead, said man merely crossed his legs and rested his elbows on each knee, he'd appeared to have strategically sat with her on his right,

"Sakura, first of all, I need to apologise for how I acted a few months ago when I broke into your apartment – it was completely unacceptable behaviour, not to mention that I overreacted. That garden is very…_personal_ to me and it isn't something I would share with even the closest of friends – I underestimated how I'd feel or react if ever I found someone there.

"I suppose that I wanted to force you to empathize with me – hence I broke into your place, but…" He faltered uncertain how to voice his thoughts, but Sakura continued for him,

"It's alright, I completely understand, and I'm sorry that I violated your space like that – I know that I didn't have any better reaction that yours to you invading in my home," He turned his head slightly to meet her eyes,

"Really?"

"Yea, I was amazed I didn't smash more furniture," Her voice was cool but not wasted upon Kakashi, who didn't resist a smile,

"Well, I wanted to apologise anyway,"

"Accepted – and I haven't gone anywhere near it nor have I told anyone,"

"Thank you," They lapsed into silence once again for a few moments, Sakura resumed her watching of the gently floating clouds, but it was soon broken again, "I was in the bar last night and I met up with Gai for a few drinks,"

"A wild night out?" Sakura found that she'd said the words before she could think better of them, Kakashi shot her a look – apparently unimpressed with her assumption,

"Not quite, we were talking about the days of being senseis and it was interesting to hear his take on things… Both of when he taught Lee-kun, Neji-kun and Tenten-chan all those years ago and when he was supervising you,"

"Hmm," He could hear it in her tone that she wasn't entirely comfortable with the conversation, but it needed saying anyway,

"When I accepted the responsibility of being a teacher, I wasn't really prepared for it, much as I hate to admit it; I thought it was an easy option and I didn't consider what my students might need, which couldn't be given in a lecture,"

"Where are you going with this?"

"I wasn't a very good sensei to you, Sakura, I'm sorry," He didn't meet her eyes this time, but he felt as if he could hear the frown on her face,

"There were a lot of factors at play with Team 7 – you had a lot on your plate – even if those two _hadn't _been a Jinchuuriki and the last Uchiha, they were still bloody irritating and impossible to deal with; besides, I wasn't much of a student in those days anyway. And in such a small group, the inter-competition is much more fierce and readily noticeable – and the fact that they were boys and I wasn't, as well as having a one-track-mind in the wrong direction, didn't help much either,"

She looked down from the clouds to find Kakashi looking at her oddly (or at least, she was forced to assume so), he paused before posing a question – Sakura didn't think she'd ever heard Kakashi seem so unsure,

"But what exactly _did_ I teach you?" Sakura found herself unable to resist a grin,

"_Abstract_ things," Kakashi genuinely wasn't sure whether to be offended or gratified at her response, so he raised an eyebrow instead, "Ya know, teamwork, chakra control, bit of genjutsu," She shrugged, but the man beside her didn't look much impressed,

"Mmh," He still felt as though he hadn't quite gotten across what he wanted to,

"There's nothing to apologise for, Kakashi, and even if there was, it was done and dusted with a _long_ time ago," They held each other's gaze for a few moments; there's a part of Sakura who wanted to make him understand that it had hurt when he'd disappeared along with Naruto – as uncaring and aloof as always, but she knew it wouldn't really have done any good.

She needed his help at the moment, not his friendship – something amiable but not too close would be ideal. After all, once she's done with him, he'll leave again – much better to keep things professional.

"Kakashi, you still have the ability of the mangekyou sharingan, do you not?"

"Of course, why?"

"How good are your space-time techniques?" _You read my mind_,

"My _Kamui_ is nearly perfected [2] – does this have something to do with the fact you were researching space-time techniques?" He could see her eyebrow twitch slightly, but her voice was steady,

"That's right, as much I hate to ask, you are the only space-time user that I know of,"

"Why would you be reluctant to ask?" Kakashi suspected that he knew the answer, but found the question formed and verbalized before he could stop himself, she tore her gaze from his retuning it to the now slightly more lumped together, darker clouds – _will it start raining soon?_ She didn't want to be honest and knew he'd see straight through her lie, but it wasn't as if she had as many options as the clouds,

"Neither of us have much time to spare, and I assume that you're still busy as ever," She gave a nonchalant shrug, but Kakashi suspected he knew better,

"We'll find a way around it – speak to Tsunade-sama if necessary," That got her attention, "I was going to bring up space-time ninjutsu with you anyway, I've wanted to train with a user for some time," Her eyes narrowed faintly in suspicion,

"Hmm, well as there isn't much option – and if you're willing to work with me then we will have to find a way around it, but I'd rather not say anything to anyone for now,"

"Why not? What have you got too loose by telling the Hokage?"

"I'll tell her eventually, but I want to _get_ somewhere with it first, bringing her conjecture is pointless,"

"Indeed it is…alright, I'll respect your wishes and keep quiet; what are you doing tomorrow?" Kakashi looked up at the dark, heavy clouds above him,

"I had only training planned,"

"Shall we meet back here tomorrow to begin training together? Say at eight in the morning?" Sakura rose to her feet, as did Kakashi,

"Sure,"

"Please bring your research with you, I'd like to have a look at it,"

"I thought you'd already done so,"

"Not really, I over scanned my eye over enough to know what your work was in reference too," She'd turned her back to him and nodded, preparing to poof away,

"I see,"

"I…hope that we can become friends, Sakura, I would rather not remain a stranger to you," She forcibly resisted the urge to say, _'unlikely'_ and simply nodded, brushing his words off as a convenient pleasantry;

"We'll see," She immediately disappeared in a puff of smoke as Kakashi sighed, forming his own hand seals to return home before the rain struck.

…

Just as he slammed the door to his apartment, the rain began to fall; it was swift and thick, battering the windows as Kakashi slipped out of his sandals and flak jacket. There was something odd about being in his tiny apartment as the rain crashed down so noisily, that he could hear every drop as it made contact with the building; something in it appealed to his shinobi nature – like being hidden in the middle of a battle.

Kakashi leaned with his back to the counter of his small kitchenette, his arms folded as he stared out of the window whilst water boiled; his two objectives for the day had either been complete or well on its way to being so.

He was surprised that Sakura had asked _him_ for help with the space-time jutsu, he had been fully expecting a lengthy battle of gentle coercion, but was still grateful it wasn't necessary. He had to admit, it still gnawed on him slightly that he hadn't been able to get Sakura to understand his concern over the old days of Team 7 – although relieved that she seemed to understand (as well as hopeful that it wouldn't become a resounding issue for them both).

Despite Sakura's apparent reservations, he really did hope that something more than amiable professionalism could be cultivated between them; but for now, especially in such early days, the worst he could do, would be to push too hard and drive Sakura away.

Was it so ironic, that by the time he'd finally gotten around to providing his third and final student with the one-on-one tuition he hadn't bothered with before, that it was now _her_ teaching _him_? The kettle clicked and he turned around to pour the boiled water into a small pot, before carrying it over to, and setting it down on, his kotatsu; he then walked over to his own, extensive bookcase.

Tugging off his gloves and dropping them on to the bedside table, his eye scanned over the numerous spines of books – remarkably few were for relaxation reading, rather than shinobi skills – eventually finding the book he was looking for. His own sensei – back in the day – had been the Yondaime himself and he had made notes on his own _Hiraishin no jutsu_ [flying thunder god technique].

There wasn't too much to speak of and Kakashi suspected that he'd never fully read the small document through before, but on the eve of a new training session, hot tea at one elbow and lashing rain outside, it didn't strike him as the worst way to spend an evening. Besides, he couldn't afford to be completely in the dark on non-Uchiha space-time techniques, sensing Sakura would be neither impressed nor likely to give him leniency for ignorance.

...

[1] This is a principle, in the physics of spacetime, that any given object exists not only in space, but also a simultaneous point in time – it cannot be one or the other. 'Space-time ninjutsu' – as far as I can make sense of – would probably work on altering one of the points in which an object (i.e. the user's body) exists – for example, the Yondaime's technique probably worked along the lines of altering the physical point his body took up, hence he could move in an instant (as though he'd moved the world under him – so moving only through space but not time).

This probably also explained his need for seals which acted like beacons for him, in the infinite concept of space (without a simultaneous point in time to be 'grounded upon') he would, probably not have a concept of distance, hence needed a point to draw himself to. This also gives interesting implications for Madara – how does he have a concept of 'distance' when he alters his physical point in space without 'markers'?

..

[2] I know that there is sight-deterioration with the mangekyou sharingan, but considering Kakashi developed it quite late on (i.e. Sakura was 15/16 at the time K developed it and is now 23) Itachi had his mangekyou for well over a decade before he fought Sasuke in their final battle and he could still see ok then, so I reckon Kakashi's sight will still be acceptable (if a little bit fuzzy combined with how little he uses the eye anyway, _and_ it isn't native) I'm going to assume that all these factors have contrubted to the fact his eyesight in his sharingan eye is still pretty good (i.e. almost perfect).

Did you guess that I love physics? I only gave a tiny, weeny, little hint, right? Lol ^-^

If any of this sort of physics interests you, I highly recommend the book: _Space, Time, and Spacetime_ by Lawrence Sklar – brilliant book XD Lol, I'm such a geek, but I love it!


	9. Chapter 9

Lots of theory in this one again, but I feel that it _is_ necessary (and besides, there's no fun without theory, right? Lol, maybe I stand alone on that vantage point XD) but there'll be a lot more fighting and action and whatnot after this chapter (tho there is a little spark in this one ^-^) – just that a few things need to be elaborated on first; fair enough, right?

In just the same way, I'm a big believer in the fact that the KakaSaku dynamic can't be rushed! (Or for that matter, any character dynamic irrespective of whom or what or how,) but they're getting there!

_Also:_ With the two italicised words (you'll understand when you get there) both read and think about them as phonetically as possible so they'll make sense (in case they don't at first glance ^-^)

Still Genesis and (I'm still in) the _Land Of Confusion_

_.._

_.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_9. But This Is The World We Live In, And These Are The Hands We're Given _

* * *

><p>"<em>Taichou!<em>" Akihiko's relieved sigh very nearly brought a smile to Sakura's lips although she resisted it,

"Finally, you get back – I've been worried, you know," She purposefully allowed a tiny smile to creep into her voice, although not much,

"You? Worried? Impossible," Taiki is quick to cut across, Sakura glues her eyes to his arm,

"What are your injuries?" Taiki hesitantly held out his arm and Sakura's hand floated above it, glowing a soft green as the minor but painful fracture slowly healed; Sakura had been informed of their return as met them on their way to ANBU headquarters after reporting in to the Hokage; it was late evening and although the air was extremely chilly from the – currently paused – rain, she was glad to see them.

"Any other injuries?" Both shook their heads,

"A few bumps and bruises, but mostly just exhausted,"

"Good, well, we've been given a week and a half off, so get some rest,"

"Hai, Taichou," She offered one small, curl of the lips as a peace offering,

"I _am_ glad you guys made it back safely and I _was_ worried having not heard hide nor hair from you… _Especially_ since you were late with the second detonation," Sakura fixed a glare at Taiki who swallowed nervously,

"A-aha-"

"You can explain later – for now just go and report in and get some rest, we'll meet up in a day or two," She waved her head slightly dismissively and turned to leap away in the direction of her apartment, the two younger ANBU breathing a mild sigh of relief to be home as well.

* * *

><p>The rain had returned by morning. Sakura dressed herself in her typical skin-tight, thermal under layer, baggier but form fitting black shirt and black baggy trousers as well as her medic vest. It was uncomfortable (and if she found an appropriate place to hang it, she'd take it off) but she suspected – as always with Hatake Kakashi – that an injury would be involved somehow.<p>

The rain was harsh and showed absolutely no signs of letting up, it had already been raining for a few hours by the time she was ready to leave so decided not to take her research, if Kakashi was that bothered, she'd bring them at the next training session. Pulling her cloak around her shoulders and the hood over her head, she stepped out of her door, pulling it closed behind her, and traced the steps down to the street.

Her mind ran through the available information on space-time ninjutsu and she already had a means with which to begin practicing; Kakashi, of course would be late and as such, saw no reason to waste her time waiting for him (and no reason for her to make too much effort to be punctual to the second). As she arrived at the training field, Sakura scowled at the fact the closet tree was still _way_ too far away and so would have to train in her vest.

Shaking it off, Sakura began to focus on what information she'd read up on, for the most part-

"Ohayo," Snapping her eyes open, she saw the cloaked form on the masked Jounin she'd been waiting for,

"…" She crinkled one eyebrow at him, confusion written all over her face,

"What?"

"Why are you so early?"

"Sorry, would you like me to leave and come back in a few hours?" His voice held a teasing element, "You weren't exactly on time, Sakura, you were nearly half an hour late," Sakura, resisting the urge to drive her chakra-charged fist in his solar plexus, merely sighed and ran a hand through her hair, careful not to lift her hood off her head.

"…_Anyway_, you are not late because..?"

"Really, Sakura, did you really think I'd leave you waiting for hours in this weather?"

"Who said I'd be waiting? I'd just be training without you,"

"Then why did you ask for my help?"

"There are still things I can do without you," She shrugged, slightly, feeling irritating at how his eye was boring into her, apparently not too impressed with her either,

"Like what?"

"I have my own theories to work on, I was just planning on conferring them with how your Kamui works," He nodded slightly,

"Did you bring your research?"

"In this weather? Are you having a laugh?" Kakashi sighed, "It's taken me a long time to collate all of that data, Kakashi, I'm not going to allow it to be ruined so flippantly; if you still want to see it then I can bring it to another training session when it isn't bucketing it down," Yes, he supposed he could understand that, he didn't after all bring the Yondaime's book for fear of its frailty and likelihood of being lost;

"Alright, but I'll need to see it soon or we won't get anywhere," He couldn't hear it clearly over the thundering rain but he fancied he caught a grumble suspiciously like a sarcastic _'really?'_, deciding to ignore it, he pressed on, "So? What is your theory for space-time ninjutsu?"

"Although I've never learned a kuchiyose, from what I understand if its mechanics, it's essentially relies upon the manipulation of the space-time continuum, by the use of chakra to draw and animal – although it could be an object, like a shuriken – from one place to another, usually over a great distance," Kakashi vaguely found himself wondering if the woman in front on him had managed to develop a jutsu which meant she could merely swallow a textbook and digest its information the way others would food;

"Mmh, that's right,"

"Well, I think that's merely a variation on how a kuchiyose works, should do it – and the first step would be to summon myself; once that's mastered I can perfect the technique and that's where I need your help, primarily,"

"How so?"

"Once I have the ability to perform even a basic space-time jutsu on myself I can then begin altering the parameters of how it works. Your Kamui, for instance, works on the principle of barriers, doesn't it?"

"Among other things," She rolled her eyes slightly at his apparent inability to be more forthcoming,

"Exactly, so then I'll need more information on how you form your barriers and the other dimension, how you manipulate your chakra and things like that which aren't _just_ about that eye, so that I can then include the barriers in my own jutsu and manipulate my body both in parts and as a whole,"

"It isn't that simple,"

"Which is why I need you to _explain_ it, I need all the information I can get – and the only space-time users, apart from being already dead, tended to vary from being extremely cautious to downright paranoid. Admittedly, they needed to be in those days, but now, you are the only one left."

There suddenly seemed a very thick tension in the air and Sakura almost wondered for a moment, if Kakashi was going to turn on his heel and leave, "I only need to know things like how you mould your chakra and form the barriers – even just that – if you don't want to say any more about your own jutsu, fine, but I need more to go on and you seemed eager to help. How is this _not_ what you were expecting?" He said nothing for a few moments, merely holding her gaze – his completely unreadable; some nasty and unbidden memories surfacing at Sakura's unfortunate choice of language.

"How do you propose to summon yourself? It's something that usually requires a blood contract at the very least,"

"Tell me first how to manipulate chakra as though I were to summon through traditional means,"

"Typically, a short burst – although very high amount of charka is used; for example, Pakkun and the other ninken are by blood contract, so I must provide an offer of blood as I make the summon and then, combined with pressure upon the blood sample, I expel the chakra through my hand and a ninken is summoned,"

"…Okay… I think I have an idea,"

* * *

><p>Sakura did her best to hide a yawn as she splashed through the puddles next to Kakashi as they walked back to their respective apartments, but it escaped anyway, eliciting an unseen smirk from Kakashi,<p>

"I must admit, I was surprised at the progress today, I genuinely didn't expect it,"

"Well, things are made significantly easier as I'd already done a vast majority of the leg work and you were able to _accurately_ describe how to mould the chakra… Although there's still a hell of a long way to go,"

"Same time tomorrow?"

"No, sorry, I have to meet Gai for a training session,"

"Aa," Kakashi nodded, "Well, then how about we make time tomorrow for at least exchanging respective research on the ninjutsu, then?"

"Eh?"

"I have a book you might find extremely interesting, although its value is beyond measure and I'm anxious that its existence isn't advertised," Sakura could almost feel her ears prick up at Kakashi's words,

"So what-" Sakura was cut off by a number of things: a familiar presence, a familiar charka and the howling words of:

"_Dainamikku entorii!_" Sakura span around and raised her arm just in time to deflect Gai's outstretched foot as her other hand grabbed his calf and used his momentum against him (and a well-placed kick of her own) to send him flying away. The bizarre beast managed to recover and land on his feet, grinning slyly as a second, smaller version of the man appeared on the scene,

"Gai-sensei! How dare you attack the beautiful Sakura-san in such a dishonourable and unmanly fashion!"

"Ah, Gai, I'm inclined to agree, what-" Kakashi began tentatively, still completely lost as to how to interpret the situation,

"Ahah, you are both mistaken! For although I used an underhanded tactic, my aim was not to injure Sakura, and I knew that she was be able to evade injury! I am, after all, looking out for her by making sure that she will be able to defend herself; there are, after all very dishonourable and evil men in the world! And I would not be able to rest unless I was certain Sakura would be able to defend herself!"

Gai, in the process of verbalizing his speech, had puffed out his chest and taken a very proud look upon is face, as Lee's expression grew more enraptured and Kakashi's more confused,

"Ooh! Training!"

"Well, _anyway_," Sakura dismissed as politely as she could manage, "Lee-san! You're finally back!"

"O-oh! That's right, Sakura-san, I finally returned this morning, and may I say, that my day has been significantly brightened by seeing you!"

"Ah-ahah, I'm happy to see you as well, Lee-san," Sakura offered a sheepish smile, half wishing it was still raining so that her hood would still be over her head,

"…This…Is normal, for you?" Kakashi asked, a sizable sweat drop appearing on the side of his head, as he turned to the kuniochi beside him; she frowned in mild confusion,

"You seem surprised," An irresistible smile (although tiny) crept on to her face as Kakashi's expression changed from confused to deeply unimpressed,

"Aah, of course," This was _Gai_ they were talking about;

"Sakura! Seeing that you have returned unharmed is marvellous! In celebration of both yours and Lee's safe return, may I invite you both to dinner?"

"Wha-Gai-sensei will cook for us?" Gai's expression immediately fell, betraying the fact he'd just been caught out,

"Uh, ah, no… I meant that I we should meet up and eat dinner in a restaurant,"

"Alright!" _Didn't Lee look happier that Gai _wasn't_ cooking?_

"Sakura?"

"Hmm, I don't know, I'm pretty tired to be honest and if we're training tomorrow, Gai, I'll need to be in good form,"

"Ah yes! I had forgotten…well, we can make it an early night! Surely meeting at seven for an hour or so will not be too much of a detriment?"

"Please, Sakura-san?"

"Hmm, alright,"

"Yosh! Excellent! Kakashi? Would you like to join us?"

"Ah, no, sorry, Gai, I'm busy tonight,"

"Very well! Lee! Sakura! We shall meet at Yakiniku Q at seven pm, until then!" Gai grinned and disappeared followed by a (first, bowing) Lee.

"…So, what were you saying about a book?" Kakashi met her eye, but kept her from deciphering his,

"I think I'll come and see you tomorrow afternoon, if that's acceptable," Sakura observed him from the corner of her eyes, apart from the previous, rather aggressive time he was in her home, she really _didn't_ like others in her personal space,

"Hmm… Isn't there somewhere more…_neutral_ we could meet?"

"I promise not to come in uninvited this time," She could hear his amusement clearly, but there was something else to his voice, as though the tone betrayed the fact that it was a bitter memory for him, too; "Besides, we are, apparently, weather dependant as well," Sakura somehow knew that she was going to lose the argument with Kakashi and that he'd turn up anyway if she couldn't give a satisfactory alternative answer,

"Fine…but not too late and I hope that you're a swift reader," He merely smiled in response – his typical goofy grin designed only to distract and reassure, "Thank you for training with me, Kakashi, you have been helpful," She turned and caught him square in the eye, he looked – _almost_ – surprised, but quickly raised a hand to scratch behind his head, his (no doubt false) embarrassment obvious,

"Ah-ha-ha, no problem, it was a pleasure to train with you,"

"Well, I just wanted to show my gratitude," She spoke gently although not passively, "I'm sure we can arrange another time to train soon," She inclined her head slightly in a subtle and polite, although formal gesture; Kakashi was feeling quite uncomfortable at how proper she was being, she certainly hadn't thanked Gai in such an aloof manner. It seemed there really was quite a way to go before Sakura would get close to letting him in;

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura; have a good evening,"

"Thank you," Her voice became disembodied as she disappeared, leaving Kakashi alone in the middle of the street, his mind still on the pink haired – and extremely intelligent – kuniochi; he really had, it seemed, underestimated her ability. Yet _again_.


	10. Chapter 10

Ferengi Rule of Acquisition no. 190 - lol, why _yes_ I am a trekkie, too! [Really, is it such a surprise? Really? You already knew I was a complete nerd, Star Trek just completes the 'outfit' as it were XD]

Picard beats Kirk~! XD Tho Janeway rules too! In fact, _all_ the series were awesome in their own ways!

_Anyway_, on to the chapter ~

Just as a warning: there is hinting at sex acts in this, it isn't full sex neither is particularly explicit – I tried to use as few words as possible to merely give you the gist of what is going on – I think it's quite tame and nothing is really mentioned (compared to some stuff I've written lol XD) but just a warning in case you're sensitive to stuff like that ~

..

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 10: Hear All, Trust Nothing_

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><p>A month had passed very quickly and Sakura was already away again on another mission; she'd trained extensively with Kakashi over the past month and her progress had been excellent.<p>

Kakashi too, seemed to gain a lot from their regular discussions and training sessions – it was something she'd always known, but had managed to forget, just what an insightful and intelligent man he was. It was probably the near-permanent state of disinterest he wore which threw most off track.

Sakura wasn't sure how to interpret the fact that whenever they trained and got close to making a breakthrough, Kakashi was more actively interested and engaging than she had ever known him to be.

She found herself quite liking and enjoying the company of him when he was a little more fascinated by the mechanics of space-time and had become, somehow, more tangible.

Before, when Kakashi had always seemed so aloof, it was almost as though he didn't really exist, not _really_ – that he was one of the mystery figures of untouchable authority, which came with an unbridgeable gulf.

But whenever they were both engrossed in analysing the mechanics of a jutsu (it had taken a few days for them to get used to each other and that they were there to help – instincts aren't easy to overcome), he was easy to talk to and readily offered his thoughts and thought processes.

Sakura didn't think that it was really him opening up to her – more that, it was just an already present side to the man, which he had no issue in displaying, but for the fact it had probably been _decades_ since anyone had _taught_ the Copy Nin _anything_ – or shared a likewise level of knowledge and skill so that he couldn't occupy the role of 'sensei'.

Apparently, the excitement which shot through Sakura whenever she leant a new snippet of information, wasn't something one necessary had to grow out of.

The book Kakashi produced, when he popped over for an evening of tea drinking and research reading – which Sakura found significantly less stressful than she'd anticipated. Kakashi was the perfect guest and didn't take his presence there for granted; their silence was amiable and conducive to reading, thankfully, (how nice and quiet it was after the boisterousness of Gai and Lee the evening before).

Still, the book itself was something really special, and it was no wonder Kakashi was so secretive of it – it had some exceptionally detailed notes on how the Yondaime manipulated his chakra. Unfortunately, the Fourth only ever moved his body as a whole and wasn't able move or remove parts of his body.

Sakura remembered when she battled with Madara, way back, even before Pein invaded Konoha and before the fourth ninja world war – Madara probably had the most advanced space-time technique of anyone, ever, and Sakura knew most of the ability would be down to the sharingan.

The sharingan, however, like many things, was, in a sense, a short-cut – an ability afforded which enabled one to gain insight and ability, otherwise, would probably have taken longer than what an average life-span would allow.

There was no way she would ever be able to obtain a sharingan – not realistically, and even if she had the means of use vicariously, through Kakashi, the limitations that sharingan had on him, meant it couldn't be used to its full potential.

Also extremely irritating.

Unfortunately, it seemed, Sakura was just going to have to continue with her current method in the hopes that she would be able to create and control barriers properly, so that she could make her body as a whole and parts of it tangible and intangible at will.

Still, right now, Sakura was on a mission and desperately needed to concentrate; her target was an old warlord – he was quite an old man, his reign of power had been back in the previous era – before Sakura's generation had been born.

She was present on only a two man mission for this one – herself and Taiki; it should have been an easy mission for Sakura (with herself in the primary role), but they discovered that her target had a certain…_liking_ for men rather than women.

This not only screwed up her plans to get close to the man before killing him, but he was also a shinobi – which mean using a genjutsu (to fool him into thinking she was male) or a henge for the same purpose was rendered moot.

The target wasn't able to sense chakra (nor was he, apparently, the brightest soul alive) – although it would be obvious Taiki was shinobi as soon as his clothes were off (Sakura assured him she step in and deal a killing blow before anything physical could happen, but he wasn't happy; well, Sakura couldn't really blame him, she wouldn't be either).

It gave Taiki time to come in and distract the target (read: seduce) and Sakura would be able to search his home for any evidence of actions or support for enemies of the Fire Country and later, as Taiki was brought back, wait for an opportunity to kill him.

A generally simple mission, but a classic example where 'customary digression' must be used, still, here Sakura was riffling through an old chest full of documents on her search for evidence as her eye caught one sheet of paper with the word '_sharingan'_ written on it. _What exactly would this guy know about the Uchiha or the sharingan?_

Sakura scanned her eyes carefully over the document conscious she didn't have much time; her eyes caught more references to doujutsu types and capabilities of a three-tomoe sharingan (although little mention was made of the mangekyou).

Doubtlessly, back in this guy's era, he would have had to contend with the Uchiha if he was carrying out shady deals either against them or Konoha.

Sakura eyes ran over the back page as she kept spotting references to the '_Naka Shrine'_ and '_hidden Uchiha abilities'_ – she assumed this must be a reference to the mangekyou; there were so many vague references to the Uchiha and their kekkei genkai and how '_the information is so closely guarded, the Leafs themselves are blind to the power of the Uchiha; perhaps if Hashirama himself had possessed the longevity of the Uchiha's leader, then he too would have been able to glide through walls as M does,' _

This took a moment to decipher – how could this old geezer have known that Madara was still alive then, when no one, _no one_ – bar Itachi, it seemed, knew of his existence? And why would (arguably) the most powerful shinobi to have lived, have allowed some lowlife like Yuuh to have known about him?

True, Yuuh was powerful and had a finger in every pie, but the Uchiha massacre? If Yuuh profited from the massacre, then he would have held rapt attention to what was happening with the clan…but Madara? That's way out of his league…of anyone's league.

Folding the paper carefully and stuffing it in her pouch, Sakura decided that she would have to study it later and returned her attention to looking for evidence useful to her mission.

…

Some three hours later, Sakura had gathered everything she needed too and was currently hiding in the shadows of a small room towards the back of Yuuh's extensive house; he and Taiki had returned not long ago and were currently sat in the significantly larger room next door.

Sakura had already knocked out some of the guards with a genjutsu, but they were soon due to wake up; the kuniochi pulled out a kunai and made an almost imperceptible slit in the paper wall adjoining the rooms and peered through.

She found she had to stifle a laugh at the fact that Yuuh was sat with his yukata wide open (apparently the man didn't believe in the use of underwear) and was substantially aroused; Taiki (thanks to his exceptional acting skills) was looking as though he was 'enjoying' slowly smoothing a hand down their target's oversized stomach towards an obvious destination.

Sakura pulled out her three, specially poisoned (it broke down to harmless, innocuous proteins a few minutes after deployment, the lethal effects taking slightly less time) sebon and took aim, just as Taiki slowly lowered his head, to save her teammate from the imminent unpleasant touching, Sakura threw the sebon straight through the rice paper.

Taiki's timing and dedication to his work was admirable; just as Sakura released the needles, the younger ANBU gripped their targets arousal in his fist, blanking Yuuh's mind to anything other than – no doubt – the pleasure bolting through him.

As a direct result, the sebon hit their mark on his neck and Yuuh had only time to allow a short groan (but whether of pleasure or pain, was hard to tell) before his weight tumbled backwards and his life left him.

Taiki wasted no time in releasing the fat old man he'd been forced get _way_ too close to over the past few hours and furiously wiped his now contaminated hand on the edge of his own yukata before quickly securing the garment around himself again.

Sakura appeared in the room, and plucked the sebon out of Yuuh's corpse before turning to Taiki who'd found his feet, but looked disgusted with himself,

"Come on, let's get back to Konoha, I've got what we need; good work, Taiki,"

"Ugh, if I never so much as shake another man's hand it'll be too soon…ugh, I never want to be that close to another guy again," Taiki whispered harshly as Sakura grinned,

"I'll buy you the strongest sake there is, when we get back,"

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><p>"Report," Tsunade didn't even look up from her scroll,<p>

"Target was successfully and discreetly eliminated; the information requested has been salvaged and already passed on to the intelligence department for analysis,"

"Excellent," She looked up for a split second, "You don't look injured,"

"We're not,"

"Then you're dismissed, I'll call for you in a few days," Taiki bowed and was halfway out of the door before he noticed that Sakura hadn't budged an inch, she looked at him in a silent gesture to keep moving; the Godaime spoke up after the door was closed,

"What is it?"

"Tsunade-sama, there's something else I'd like to bring to your attention," The Hokage looked up at her once-apprentice, "It is some information I located at Yuuh's compound,"

"Is it urgent?"

"More like interesting,"

"Hmm, well, I'm afraid it'll have to wait, I've got a meeting in a few moments, lord knows why at this time of night, but I'll have to see you tomorrow – check with Shizune but I should have time around three," Sakura bowed,

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," The Godaime offered one last smile and Sakura turned and was out of the door, closing it quietly behind her, looking up, Taiki was still stood leaning against the curved wall of the corridor;

"Right, I owe you sake," He nodded as they both traced the halls down until they reached street level; although the night air was chilly, there were still plenty of lanterns lit to line the streets, giving a wonderfully ethereal feel to the streets,

"A-are you really going to join us for sake?" Taiki's tentative voice reached her ears and attracted her attention,

"Sure…unless you'd rather I leave, I won't be offended if you do,"

"No! No way! It's just that you never join us and…"

"Have you already managed to rope Akihiko and Raiden in on this?" He grinned sheepishly, she rolled her eyes as they approached the Shushuya,

"Haa…fine then, but it isn't an open bar, you know,"

"Hai, hai Taichou," They pushed open the doors and the grinning features of Akihiko greeted them across the room,

"Hey, so you _did_ manage to get Captain to join us!" Sakura couldn't resist a frown as she took a seat next to Raiden and opposite Taiki,

"Why is this so weird to you guys?"

"Probably because we've never socialised,"

"Aa," Yea, that could be a reason,

"So how did the mission go?" Raiden – despite being cool headed and an excellent ninjutsu user, was a surprising sucker for gossip,

"Disgustingly! Ugh!" Taiki's face immediately turned sour and made small movements with his mouth as though he'd tasted something foul; a waitress walked up, looking nervous at Taiki weird expression,

"Three warm sakes, medium sized bottles, four cups and some bōkun habanero [spicy potato rings] and some ebi senbei [prawn crackers (equivalent of, I think)], please,"

"Hai," The waitress then scurried away,

"Alright, captain!"

"Stay cool, Taiki, you did well on the last mission and I'm not certain what my schedule will be like over the next day or two, so you guys can relax a little. Besides, maybe I don't let you guys know how much I rely on you and can trust you to follow through on my orders, often enough,"

Sakura had been looking around the room, feeling a touch uncomfortable at her words, but as she looked back over the table, she found all three men were staring at her – Akihiko and Taiki both seemed to have tears in their eyes, whilst Raiden looked as though she'd just begun dancing on the table,

"What?"

"C-captain, did you hit your head?"

"No, _baka!_ I just want to let you guys know that you are appreciated, I know I can come down on you pretty hard sometimes," The waitress returned with their drinks and snacks as Raiden poured her a cupful of sake, which she nursed for about the time it took the boys to drink four cups; she didn't stay long at the Shushuya, feeling uncomfortable in such a crowded place and drank only three or four cups of sake.

This was enough to look as though she was participating, but nowhere near enough to get drunk; the rest of her team were steadily getting worse but Sakura's mind kept drifting back to the paper she found reference, who _must_ be Madara.

The more Sakura thought about what the paper meant, the more convinced she was that there would be the key to giving her more information on space-time ninjutsu. After all, the most powerful space-time user was a sharingan wielding Uchiha and if there was some information hidden away on the sharingan, maybe an eye wouldn't quite be as necessary as she'd first thought…

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><p>"Ah, Sakura, the Godaime was called to an emergency at the hospital, it'll probably be a little before she returns, so you might as well wait in the Jounin lounge,"<p>

"Hai, Shizune-sampai," The brunette gave a rueful smile, at the once vibrant kuniochi – now cool and calculating, Shizune often wonders if Naruto ever returned, whether he'd recognise his old friend; the lean, slender frame of Sakura's belies her strength, even without chakra.

She's able to fool even the most perceptive of enemies into thinking they know her strengths and weaknesses. Sakura rounds the corner and pushes open the door to the usually quiet Jounin lounge; she flicks her eyes over the room seeing only the tuft of dark hair, belonging to Yamato, sat on the seat around the central pillar.

She ignore him for the moment, he isn't looking at her anyway, whilst she locates a map of Konoha and tugs it down off the shelf to look at;

"Yamato-sampai," She offered a small smile and a nod before she sits down as Yamato finally looks up,

"Ah, Sakura, how are you?" She scanned her eyes over him, quickly discerning that he's injured;

"Well, thank you… Yamato, where are you injures?"

"Hmm? Oh, uh, they're not serious, I just need to see the Godaime and then I'll go to hospital," He offers his signature placating smile, but Sakura wasn't buying, the medic in her is insatiable, it seems;

"It's no trouble, Yamato, please?" She stepped closer to him as he pulled a hand away from his ribs, he lifted his shirt slightly allowing Sakura to see the rather nasty bruising over his left side; "Aa, how long have you had this injury?" Her hands began to glow a soft green as she held them millimetres above his skin; he allowed a few sharp breaths out in relief at the fact he could again breathe normally,

"Aaah," The bruising began to fade as Sakura had healed the three cracked ribs he was sporting, "About two days, my return journey was rather halting,"

"Mmh, well you'll still be a bit tender for a day or two so take it easy, but they'll heal just fine,"

"Thank you, Sakura, that feels so much better!" Sakura rose to her feet and turned around to find Kakashi stood in front of her his book open but his eye trained upon her, with what she assumed to be one eyebrow raised,

"Kakashi," She nodded as Yamato seemed to sit up a little more and drag his shirt back down; said silver-haired Jounin nodded back as he turned his attention to the man behind her; Sakura, deciding to ignore what she could imagining Kakashi had thought the situation was, picked up her map again and settled herself at a table.

The door suddenly opened as Shizune stuck her head around the door,

"Yamato-san, Tsunade-sama is ready for your report,"

"H-hai…arigatou, Sakura," The Jounin was quick to find his feet and follow Shizune out the door, leaving Sakura and her long-ago sensei alone; without looking up from her map, she addressed him;

"Kakashi, are you about to leave on a mission?"

"Hmm, iie, Tsunade just had a little job for me to do and I'm reporting back,"

"Aah,"

"Why do you ask?" He took a step or two closer, eyeing the map she was pouring over, noting where her eyes glanced to the most,

"During my previous mission, I stumbled across some very interesting information on the Uchiha, specifically, and a few other things relevant to our current training," She flashed her eyes over to him, noting how his head cocked to the side slightly in unspoken interest, "It also suggested where some more information on the sharingan or the Uchiha may be found – I'm going to speak to the Hokage about what we've been doing and, hopefully, she'll agree to send us on a mini-mission,"

"Wh-" The door opened again and Shizune appeared,

"Apologies for the interruption, but Tsunade-sama is ready to see you, Sakura," Said kuniochi rose to her feet and gathered the map, curling it up and sliding it back into place on the shelf before nodding at Kakashi,

"I'll come and find you when things are a little more certain," Kakashi only had time to nod before she was out of the door.

…

A few hours later, Kakashi was sat on the smooth, wide slab of stone in front of the carving in his family's garden; he was surprised, after Sakura had come and found him little under an hour ago, at how juxtaposed he felt with himself.

His curiosity had nearly been tearing him apart by the time Sakura had found him and briefly explained what her plan was (approved of by Tsunade) and what the information she'd found – giving him the slip of paper to look over.

'Very interesting' wasn't exactly the wording Kakashi would have chosen, to think that scum like Yuuh had some connection to Madara back in the days preceding the massacre _and_ had knowledge about the sharingan was worrying indeed.

Sakura's plan had been to go, with himself, into the Uchiha complex to try and find any remaining documents on the sharingan and its associated jutsus. Kakashi couldn't deny that he _was_ fascinated by the prospect of being able to snoop around the complex, but there was some instinct in him which warned something wasn't right.

_What do you think, Obito? There are no Uchiha left now – they've all been killed…but thanks to you, I hold the last vestige of that noble, although arrogant, clan. I wonder what you'd think of all their deaths, their betrayal of Konoha? _

_Of me, years later, with an old student of mine, entering your clan's compound to glean whatever information we possibly can about the sharingan? I wonder if you would have ever developed space-time ninjutsu or Kamui had this eye still been in your socket – had you still been alive…_

_You were so un-typical of an Uchiha – I bet you would have fought against the coup d'état had you lived to see it. I have no idea what to expect in walking into that environment; would you? _

_I know that after the massacre, the intelligence department cleaned out the compound and took any and all valuable information with them, but my gut tells me more is there than just decaying buildings. _

_Maybe I feel it's a betrayal of you and your clan to go snooping where I'm not welcome…even though anyone who may object is long dead; maybe it's enough that Sakura and I are going. _

_I know that I will respect the compound as much as I can and I sense Sakura would do the same – we're on a search for more information on space-time ninjutsu, hence we're going there in the first place. Still, there really is something nagging me – despite my incredible curiosity. _

_I wonder where you lived, Obito, I wonder if I see your home? Sakura and I will be heading in there tomorrow to find what we can – I promise I'll do my best not to disturb any ghosts._

Kakashi rose to his feet, taking a deep, calming breath in, holding it for a few seconds before smoothly exhaling in one long breath. Raising his eye to the cloudless sky, he wondered what he'd find tomorrow – his concerns weren't enough to make him _not_ (want to) go but just enough to put him on edge.

Feeling slightly eased by verbalising this thoughts – even in his mind – he turned and darted into the trees; the best he could do now, was face tomorrow fully rested.


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Genesis: _Land Of Confusion _

Apologies! _Fascination: Sequel_ was supposed to be updated first, but there are a few things I've still to work out – as to what needs to be said in the next chapter and what needs to be in others…sorry! But here's this in the meantime :D

Also: I'm aware that the Uchiha complex was probably destroyed in Pein's invasion, but frankly that really screws up this plot point, so…uh…is it acceptable to assume that the Uchiha compound was left pretty much untouched by the technique of Pein? Please? :)

I know it's not ideal, but tbh, it would take a major reworking of the story to get around what needs to be sorted through here (and frankly, I don't have that kind of time), so I hope you guys are happy to accept this as canon for this story…sorry, I hate AU stuff like this, but it really can't be helped!

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 11: Ooh, Superman, Where Are You Now?_

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><p>"Ready?" She saw him nod in her peripheral vision as she stepped forward and began to pry away at the wooden slats which boarded up the entrance to the Uchiha compound.<p>

It had still been accessible during the time Sasuke was still in the village, although he didn't live in the old clan home; as soon as he left the village, however, Tsunade and the other councillors saw fit to close it off entirely.

After a small gap had been made, enough for both shinobi to slip through, Kakashi, as last through, repaired the hole they'd created; hiding, from prying eyes, their presence.

It was about half an hour after dawn, the almost complete lack of human presence was relaxing to Sakura as she looked carefully down the walkway, one side with family houses and the other, a high wall, in the middle of which, were evenly spaced _uchiwa_ [the clan symbol of the fan].

She and Kakashi continued walking, there was varying debris covering many of the paths – no doubt thrown from Pein's attack all those years previous – and it struck Sakura just how large the compound was,

"How many Uchiha were there? I didn't realize how big this place was,"

"I'm not certain, but I know there were about five main families – Fugaku – Sasuke's father – was the clan leader and his sibling's families made up the core of the clan – and then there was probably quite a number of lesser families or individuals who made up the body of the clan… At least fifty, but I suspect quite a few more as there were a number in ANBU and those who made up the police force."

"Police?" He caught her eye for a moment, realizing that the police was predominantly before her generation,

"Oh, the Uchiha were essentially the police, to enforce punishment for shinobi crimes, but after the massacre, ANBU have basically taken on the role," Sakura nodded slowly, as she looked over the houses, most of which showed evidence of the massacre and hadn't been repaired.

Many of the wooden frames had been splintered; fusuma [paper and wood sliding doors] were torn, or had dents which told of a kunai or shuriken strikes.

"Was there anywhere you specifically wanted to look?" They turned a corner which lead down another residential street,

"Well, there was a reference to the _Naka Shrine_ on that paper I picked up from Yuuh and if Fugaku was the leader, then I think we should go to his house and see if anything interesting has been stashed away."

"Apparently, the ANBU and intelligence departments responsible for clearing up the mess here, made a brief scout for any scrolls that might have contained classified information – but I've no idea what they might have done with anything they found or what could be left." They turned another corner, where there were a few shops, one for senbei and a few other more official looking buildings,

"Hey, doesn't that look like some sort of administration building, to you?" She pointed it out, it was fairly imposing, but not obvious over the average height of the other buildings; upon the lip of the roof, there was another, small uchiwa inside a blue, four pointed star,

"That was the symbol of the police force," Kakashi pointed as Sakura nodded in acknowledgement before sh slid open the fusuma and stepped inside, it was a large eight tatami room, with very little décor – apparently, the Uchiha weren't impressed with anything lacking a practical purpose.

Sakura stepped over the mats, they cracked and disintegrated under the pressure after close to two decades since they'd last been used.

Sakura could feel the solidity of the concrete floor beneath her feet, despite the crumbling of the mats; nothing seemed to be amiss and the room was as cold and aloof as the last Uchiha she'd ever spoken to.

She ran her hands slightly over the wall at the back of the room, still, there appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary – it was just a functional meeting room.

"I doubt there's anything here,"

"Hmm… Where too next?"

"Fugaku's is closer than the shrine, we'll go there next," They left the building, and Sakura directed them away towards the heart of the Uchiha compound, they twisted through a few more streets until they again appeared on the small walkway with the wall on one side. One of the uchiwa opposite Fugaku's house held a deep kunai puncture – right in its centre,

"I guess this must have been the centre of the fighting, if it really was Itachi's doing,"

"It was… I couldn't image what he must have felt, rounding on his own house, mentally selecting which body points to strike upon his own father and mother," Sakura stared at Kakashi as his finished his sentence, himself still eyeing the fractured uchiwa.

She raised an eyebrow, a violent stab of empathetic remorse bolting through her, although she kept the expression deftly away from showing upon her face.

They stared at each other for a few moments, neither daring to give away what they might be thinking, although Sakura was the first to avert her eyes to Sasuke's house,

"I wonder how paranoid Fugaku was…I wonder if he had the mangekyou?" Sakura took a step away as Kakashi felt into line next to her, he slid open the door,

"Very paranoid, I think, he was the leader of the Uchiha and mastermind behind the coup, but I doubt he had the mangekyou – he probably assumed that he'd have Itachi to do all of his dirty work and pay the price for those eyes… Fugaku probably couldn't afford to act so outlandishly as to use the generally accepted method of obtaining the mangekyou,"

"Which leads me to the question of _your_ mangekyou," The inquisitive grin on Sakura's face told Kakashi enough,

"Hai, hai but that's a story for another day,"

"I'm holding you to that," Sakura stepped over the threshold and, without seeing a need to remove her zori, stepped up into the house and walked down the small corridor leaning her to the main room, again the tatami mats cracked as she stepped on them.

Kakashi climbed the stairs to search the individual rooms, he could see the remnants of what he supposed would have been Sasuke's room at that point.

There were a few toys scattered on the floor and a few tiny articles of clothing belonging to a child not much more than six or seven; Kakashi couldn't help but struggled to correlate the immature and happy childhood image of Sasuke (as one who could feel something besides hatred and betrayal) which came along with the room, with the cold and lost killer of a few years ago.

Even when Kakashi was teaching the boy chidori, before that set of Chuunin exams, the aura of Sasuke was aloof and arrogant; that 'childhood' was for those who were either unable to yet speak, or the impossibly dense.

Moving on, before he allowed himself more time to think over what could have been, he continued on, coming to what must have been Itachi's room, it was cold and aloof too, but everything was strangely ordered.

Kakashi supposed that Itachi knew what and when everything was to happen and it made sense to at least sort his room out before the end, he stepped inside and opened up some of the drawers on the desk, it contained little other than a few jutsu scrolls – advanced, but by themselves quite typical.

He dug a little further and found a few scrolls on the sharingan, they were only of the basic level and told of how a one, two and three tomoe sharingan could be utilized and how to improve techniques, but nothing was written that Kakashi hadn't yet discovered for himself or read elsewhere – writings on the normal sharingan were fairly useless to he and Sakura at the moment, although they might be worth saving nonetheless.

Kakashi gingerly picked them up and slipped them into the scroll pouches on the front of his flak-jacket, amazed at what good condition they were still in.

He searched thoroughly, but as he expected, nothing was to be found; Itachi was far too intelligent to leave anything behind which might be discovered, no matter how well hidden it was. The last room had nothing either, Fugaku and Mikoto's room.

Again, the futon had been unrolled and a sheet laid crumpled beside it, ready to be put on, but apparently, Mikoto had been interrupted.

He remembered having been brought to the police station and sat down in front of Fugaku and a few other Uchiha after he'd returned from the battle of the Kanabi Bridge, Fugaku was a nasty character, he'd thought, even then, ad he stared at Kakashi's new sharingan with such thorough distain it was impossible to hide.

Not that the man even attempted to try and hide it.

His new eye had itched and ached heavily, it wouldn't stop tearing up and weeping as his body trying to adjust to the foreign object, it took all of the young shinobi's willpower not to rub fiercely at the eye every few minutes – how cruelly ironic, for all of the oft-pointless eye-drops that Obito used (as Kakashi had thought), he couldn't need them more.

In some respects, Kakashi was lucky that Fugaku decided not extract the eye again, but the silver-haired shinobi suspected it was mostly because Minato was at his side and unwilling to allow the Uchiha to act in such a fashion.

Kakashi was lucky to have the Fourth in support of him back then, if he hadn't or Kakashi had been a lesser shinobi, the Uchiha would probably have whisked him away, plucked the eye out as quickly as possible, tortured him and then killed him for having such access to their kekkei genkai.

The clan leader had asked Kakashi to retell the story of how he obtained the eye about four times and eventually called for Rin to be brought in so that she could explain her technique; Fugaku looked ready to murder.

Minato stepped in at that point and demanded Fugaku let the go and get some rest (they had, literally, been fresh from the battlefield), eventually Fugaku relented, issuing silent threats especially to Rin, over what her medical ability could cost the Uchiha.

Kakashi couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at how Obito must have been treated for his lackadaisical and unrefined manner – he really must have suffered under the rule of a man like Fugaku.

It had been an incredibly long and humiliating day, every Uchiha he'd passed, had made a point of stopping and staring at him until he was out of sight, unable to make it any clearer how they felt about such a disgraceful desecration of their bloodline.

Kakashi was used to such staring, but it was a new sensation to be looked at in such a fashion due to reasons not wholly to do with his late father.

After a brief scan of the room, he turned and stepped out of the room as Sakura stood at the top of the stairs,

"Anything?"

"No, nothing on the mangekyou although a few scrolls on a normal sharingan, I picked them up and you can have a look later although there's nothing I don't already know," Sakura nodded in interest,

"It'll be interesting to read through anyway; but nothing down there either, I didn't really anticipate much, but I suppose it was worth a shot," They turned and left the house as silently as they'd entered, Kakashi slid the door closed just as the sun peered out from beneath a large cloud, the sun was weak but bright as they followed back down the wide street,

"Do you think the Uchiha had a library of sorts on their techniques and kekkei genkai?" Sakura asked, peering up at the masked Jounin, who continued to look ahead,

"Probably, but I suspect it would have been very well hidden… If we visit the Naka Shrine next, that might give us a few clues since it, obviously, was only ever used by the Uchiha, they might well have stored some information there,"

They continued down the streets and the evidence of the massacre began to dwindle slightly and as the houses fell away to gardens, it was as though the massacre had never happened. Soon they came upon a large river, Sakura was very nearly fooled into thinking that it was a lake but the water was swift moving, for such a large body of water.

There were many stone steps down, from the high path they were on, to the small docks which stretched over the smooth surface; it all looked somewhat idyllic and Sakura could imagine finding a spot of peace in sitting at the head of those docks looking out over the water.

The sun was suddenly covered over again by a deep cloud and what little warmth the sun had brought, vanished; the general, almost monochrome light which spread over the area flashed a sort of warning light within Sakura.

She wasn't one to get spooked or believe in pathetic fallacy, but there was something eerie in the dark overbearing building of the shrine and Torii, the wooden frame signing its entrance, another uchiwa embedded with it…and the calm of the water seemed to beg a silent witness.

Shaking it off, she marched up under the frame and up to the entrance, Kakashi only half a step behind, she slid open the door.

The room they initially entered was eight tatami mats in size with the focus of the room at the far end, a small wooden box for offering was by their side as they stepped right in, Sakura walked without haste across the tatami mats.

Although the shrine was in disuse and she herself was not very religious, she couldn't shake off the feeling of being disrespectful by not treading carefully enough.

The mats were equally as worn here as elsewhere and the dull thud of her footfalls could be heard easily over the crunch of mats, Kakashi stepped over to the side of the room where there was another fusuma and slid it open as Sakura continued over to the far wall.

She closed in and stepped down onto the mat, instead of unforgiving concrete, a hollow thud sounded from beneath the crackle of matting,

"W-hat the?" She stooped to pull away at the matting, spying wooden panelling, she tugged at the side and found that it gave and lifted up, hidden hinges on the underside allowed the plank to remain upright as Sakura peered down at what appeared to be stone steps.

Looking around, she spotted a few lanterns against the back wall, she picked one up and used a match close by to light it, allowing the flame to take hold, she refitted the cover and stepped down the winding staircase;

"What have you found?" She looked up to see Kakashi walking over to her,

"Something interesting," She grinned whilst stepping further down, Kakashi waited a few moments to light his own lantern before he too followed her footsteps.

As she descended, the lamp illuminated just far enough so that she could see where it levelled out to form a mid-sized room, she walked forward to allow Kakashi into the room and to illuminate it further as she caught sight of a tablet and two torches at a far end, walking over to them she set them both alight.

As the full room was slowly bathed in light, Kakashi set his lantern aside as did Sakura, she turned around, her breath catching in her throat,

"K-Kakashi," He turned slowly around, noting where Sakura's eyes were directed, as he turned, he could see a cloaked figure stood on the bottom step, facing them; he was dressed in a simple, dark cloak, his bangs straight and adding an extra layer of darkness around his face.

The slashed through haitai-ate sat on his brow was unmistakable, the eyes which gleamed back were slowly swirling tomoe on a sea of crimson.

"Kakashi-san, I did not expect you to find this place, or ever to see you here,"

"Itachi… How-?" Kakashi slowly raised his arm to lift his haitai-ate off his own sharingan,

"Kai," He could hear Sakura's voice behind him, and as he opening his own swirling Sharingan, he could sense the genjutsu, but was also unable to counter it,

"You are both correct, this is a genjutsu, it was activated as soon as you lit the torches, Sakura-san,"

"How are you doing this? You're dead,"

"I know…I am in your minds, remember," In typical Itachi style, he was polite and to the point, "But I will explain a few things. I placed this genjutsu here right before I massacred the clan…I'd always planned for Sasuke to remain alive and this room explains the secrets of the sharingan – but a sharingan is needed to read it, so I paced this jutsu here to allow him to do so, even without 'eyes' of his own. Of course, it was also to protect the shrine from unfriendly discernments, which I'm aware you aren't, hence you are still alive,"

"You are looking for ideas on space-time ninjutsu? Why?"

"I wish to increase my power,"

"I can tell that Madara and Sasuke are dead too…who else has become a threat to your world?"

"The loss of the bijuu between the nations has caused considerable upset to the balance of power, although there is generally little threat of war, countries – especially the small ones who didn't have bijuu to begin with – are eager to strike out and make a name for themselves which wouldn't have been possible before the Fourth World War…crime syndicates are more prolific now too, mercenary shinobi are more common than before," Kakashi explained quickly, wondering why, briefly, he was explaining something, ostensibly, to himself,

"That must be troubling, it is a shame that so little peace has been created, especially after the world saw what happens under the old ninja-system of hatred,"

Kakashi had since closed his natural eye and was focussing his chakra to from the mangekyou, as much as he agreed, it really wasn't the time or place for such discussions with himself;

"I don't understand, how can the jutsu remain after your death?"

"There are many jutsu in the world, Kakashi-san and many secrets which small minds label as impossible and discard the idea,"

"Seals!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed, "You placed your chakra in seals inside this room, and the trigger will be the fire lighting, the seals will release, controlling the chakra of the person in the room,"

"You are correct, Sakura-san, as expected from an apprentice to Tsunade-sama,"

"And because the room is so enclosed, releasing the genjutsu would prove useless so long as the seals are present to recast the jutsu continually," Kakashi remarked, realizing the brilliance of Itachi's jutsu,

"You both are formidable opponents…but insight is not always enough," Itachi spoke as he raised his hands, as though to begin hand seals,

"Sakura, find and destroy the seals, I'll deal with this,"

"Right," _The most logical place to hide a seal would probably be inside the torches, or at least, where the heat can get to activate them_, directing her chakra to her finger, she poked one of the torches, destroying it immediately, as the fire was extinguished, Sakura realised the problem.

If the charka was manipulating her five senses, the she wouldn't easily be able to tell where or what the seal looked like – it could be disguised as simply a part of the floor or on the side of the of the torches and she would never be able to spot it.

"Shit," She needed a means to detect where the charka itself was emanating from, then she'd be able to pinpoint its location, irrespective of what her senses were trying to tell her. But how? Sakura wasn't a sensor type but what did she know about dispelling genjutsu? _Of course!_

"Kakashi, you can see chakra flow with your sharingan right?"

"Hmm," He was busy with his eye locked to 'Itachi's',

"Well, if I disrupt your chakra flow to break the genjutsu for a moment, it's all you need to see were the seals are and then destroy them," She began to heavily focus on her own chakra in attempts to keep control of herself as Itachi suddenly dissipated into a number of crows,

"Right," She leapt over to her partner and directed a small amount of chakra into him,

"Sakura, I'm over here!" She span around to see Kakashi fighting with kunai against Itachi on the opposite side of the room, "Hey, what are you waiting for?" He was wounded lying on the stone steps, a serious gash over his stomach.

Sakura forced herself to focus as she bit her lip hard enough to draw blood as the room suddenly faded back into reality and she could see Kakashi with a pile of ashes at his feet, she was surpised to find herself flat on her ass,

"You alright now?"

"Yea…damn, that was some jutsu," Kakashi nodded as he picked up the lantern he'd discarded earlier and carried it over to the tablet, Sakura quickly found her feet and joined him,

"What can you read?"

"It tells the story of The Sage of the Six Paths and the Juubi [the ten tails, comination of all other bijuu] about the brothers of the Sage whose descendants became the Senju and the Uchiha… It would also seem Madara was telling the truth all those years ago… apparently the Sharingan is able to control the Kyuubi…

"Shit that really could have meant trouble if Sasuke had ever been in a position to control Naruto that way…" Sakura flicked her eyes between the tablet – which to her eyes read as little more than nonsense and Kakashi, whose eye was spinning rapidly as it searched over the stone,

"Does it speak of the mangekyou?"

"It does…How to obtain a mangekyou, how to make it eternal, it speaks of the techniques of Amaterasu, Susano'o, Izanagi, Tsukuyomi…"

"What are they?"

"I can explain later… 'The mangekyou, the kaleidoscope eye…'" _What does a kaleidoscope do? To look through a kaleidoscope can make it seem as though dimensions are falling in on each other; as it twists, the bottom is crushed and replaced by the next, is that how the mangekyou interferes with space and time? It separates out space into dimensions and then the user can either transport others or themselves into one…_ "…and dimensions of space are bent to the user's will, the kaleidoscope shows the many borders of dimensions, to one with an eye of illusion to his enemies and an eye of truth to himself,"

"I was right!" Sakura grinned, ignoring the unimpressed and half-exasperated expression of Kakashi,

"Eh?"

"What does a kaleidoscope do? It's obvious now that I think about it,"

"Great," Kakashi shot her one last unimpressed look before redirecting his attention to the tablet, memorizing it for future reference, "Okay, I think that's all that relevant,"

"Wait! Does it say anything about chakra manipulation?" Kakashi gave one last quick scan before shaking his head, "Not that I can see… I think that's all my mangekyou can decipher,"

"Hmm… Well, that still something," Kakashi nodded as he shut off his mangekyou and recovered his eye with his haitai-ate, already feeling the strain on his body.

They both rose to their feet and picked up a lantern each, heading back out of the secret room and closing off the plank and tatami mat before they stepped away.

As they left the shrine, Sakura stretched her arms over her head cracking the joints slightly,

"Ahh, all that searching and genjutsu fighting has made me hungry…" They walked down the steps from the shrine and back the way they had come through the compound,

"What do you fancy?"

"Hmm… Okonomiyaki," It was about lunch time, surprising Sakura, slightly, at how quickly they'd scouted the clan home and found the information they'd needed, although meeting Itachi – even if he was in genjutsu form – certainly was a surprise.

She'd heard, now, about the attempted coup on behalf of the Uchiha, at how desperate Itachi was to keep Konoha and Sasuke safe, so much so that he went to such lengths. Itachi really was the epitome of self-sacrifice and it seemed an unspeakable betrayal that Sasuke essentially worked to undermine everything his brother strove for.

"-of Konoha… Sakura?" Kakashi's voice suddenly brought her back to where she was, she turned to face Kakashi's mildly concerned expression,

"Hmm?"

"Were you listening?"

"Sorry, no, I was miles away," Kakashi's eyebrow dropped displaying how unimpressed he was,

"I was talking about a restaurant which does really good Okonomiyaki on the far side of Konoha,"

"Oh! Really?"

"Yea, c'mon, we'll eat there and I can explain the jutsus inscribed on the stone to you,"

"Ooh!" Sakura's eyes immediately glittering at the prospect of hearing about such alien techniques, Kakashi couldn't resist a smile, albeit hidden, as they took to the roofs for a more subtle getaway. Now that the crowds of Konoha had become more prolific, there was a higher risk that questions which didn't need to be answered, were far more likely to be asked if anyone saw them so casually (but suspiciously) leaving the Uchiha compound (which was off-limits to even high ranking shinobi).

The restaurant turned out to be quite close to where the Aburame clan compound was located (almost on the directly opposite side to the Uchiha) it was a really quaint little place and Sakura was suddenly faced with the mental image of Kakashi sat, surrounded by formally dressed civilians in his typical uniform, _giggling_ behind a copy of _Icha Icha_.

"Something funny?" Sakura, although she tied to bite back a laugh at the thought, apparently allowed something to shown on her face,

"Oh, nothing, nothing," She waved it off but Kakashi wasn't convinced, he pushed aside the half curtains as stepped inside the shop, wandering over to a table,

"You'd better not be laughing at me or I won't pay for lunch," Sakura raised an eyebrow as they both sat down,

"I didn't think you were going to, anyway,"

"Hmm… well maybe _you_ should pay… going there _was_ your idea and I did most of the work, you know," Sakura rolled her eyes, although his voice was soft and amusement was twinkling in his one visible eye;

"Losing your edge, old man?" Kakashi opened his mouth to respond when the owner rushed over to them, she was a fairly plump woman with a kind face, dressed in a beautiful kimono,

"Ahh! Kakashi-san, it is delightful to see you again!" Sakura was forced to bite the inside of her lip to prevent herself from smiling; apparently, her mental image wasn't too far off.


	12. Chapter 12

Wow, wow! 38 reviews! 0 . 0! I'm amazed at the support this story has gotten! Thank you guys for taking the time to read and/or review ^-^

I know its late and that there are other thngs I should be working on, but I haven't had much inspiration recently - but I hope this chapter is enjoyable enough,

..

.

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_12. The Heart Is Bitter_

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><p>"I suppose that <em>would<em> make a lot of sense…especially as it seems like such a swift and logical way to transmit the information," Sakura took a bite of her okonomiyaki and chewed thoughtfully over what Kakashi had said, politely averting her eyes down to the plate.

Kakashi had explained his reasoning behind why he was able to obtain the Mangekyou, that while the Uchiha always made reference to needing to kill one's 'best friend', it stands to reason that – especially way back during the warring period before the nations and shinobi villages were established (as well as after), that a 'best friend' would be one to train with regularly – continually pushing each other to improve.

If this were the case, then two 'best friends' who'd known and fought against each other for years would reach a stage where the sharingan would natural mutate into the mangekyou.

In just the same way, that the initial stage of the sharingan, at first activation, tends to be in dangerous – usually potentially lethal circumstances – it activates when needed. So, in just the same way, if one trained to a high enough standard, then the mangekyou would activate – but this usually requires the push of another person and the drive of competition to make sure such a high level is reached.

"Well, since I was able to gain the mangekyou, I theorised that that might be the case…although I still can't say for certain," Sakura nodded as she sliced in half another bite and plucked it off the griddle, taking a final sip of peach juice, she leaned back in her seat,

"Well, it _would_ seem like the most likely explanation…and there's the case with Sasuke – he was _given_ the mangekyou, or at least Amaterasu,"

"But he did still kill the one closest to him, Itachi," Kakashi countered, although understanding what she was trying to say;

"Yea, I suppose that's true…damn the paranoid Uchiha, I can't believe how secretive they were…I suppose I couldn't blame Sasuke for turning out the way he did even if the Uchiha had survived," Sakura rolled her eyes, though still caught the tiny crinkle around his eye signifying a smirk;

"Hmm, they certainly were serious," Sakura shook her head, glad to be free of the cold and 'functional _only_' compound of the Uchiha,

"Anyway… We should probably go and report to Tsunade-sama…" She reached around to her pouch to drag out a smaller pouch full of money, finding significantly more than she'd thought, half wondering what she was doing with her money (or not doing as the case may be) she tugged out the appropriate amount and rose to her feet.

She shuffled out of the booth, Kakashi falling into step next to her, they bowed and thanked the owner of the small shop (Sakura making a mental note to visit again, it really was great okonomiyaki). Stepping out of the shop, they started back, at a resting pace,

"When do you want to meet again, for more training?" Kakashi's smooth voice broke her revere,

"…Not sure, I'll hear what Tsunade-sama has to say on what we found in the compound first… she might have a mission for either one of us before we can meet again,"

"Hmm," They walked through the semi-busy streets with a grace and ease that only came from shinobi; their walk was slow and graceful, easily weaving around the civilians in the street. Sakura had to admit, that she never felt half as uncomfortable as she expected to, next to Kakashi, but that in itself seemed odd – he didn't _quite_ feel like a 'friend', yet; neither said a word as they made their way towards Tsunade's office, a sudden thought struck Sakura;

"What do you think they'll do to the compound now? Or the…uh…_stone_?" She lowered her voice slightly as she spoke,

"Hmm, it's hard to say…I'd think that they'd take it to the intelligence department, if Tsunade gives permission for them to poke around again,"

"Well, it's not like they'd be able to do anything with it – in terms of deciphering, unless they draft you in," Sakura spoke with a grin, but she could almost see Kakashi grimace at the thought,

"Hmm," His noncommittal, but slightly disapproving tone told it all.

…

"I see... Well, I'm frankly amazed at the lengths Itachi went to in the name of protecting Sasuke and Konoha." Tsunade looked thoughtful for a few moments with her chin resting on her clasped hands as Sakura and Kakashi stood in front of her, "I'll think over what'll be done with that stone,"

"What are you going to do about the compound as a whole? Leave it as is? Destroy it?" Sakura asked, genuinely curious as to what the answer might be,

"I'm not certain… as there are no Uchiha left now, at all, it seems silly to keep the compound in quarantine when it could be put to such better uses, but I'll think it over… Anyway, there's something else which happened whilst you were off."

"What?"

"You two seem to be on a roll today, guess who's also shown up on the radar again?" Kakashi cocked his head slightly, thinking he knew where this was going, "Naruto,"

"What! Why's he suddenly back?" Sakura looked ready to dash off,

"Steady on…one of the ANBU patrols reported spying on him, he's within the Fire country,"

"Why didn't they bring him back?"

"He's not a missing-nin, Sakura, they're under no obligation to do anything to him," Kakashi responded, unsure how to feel about news of his former student,

"They why did they report on him?"

"I asked them to, Naruto has to come back at some point…I want you to go and talk to him, find out why he's back in Fire, what he's up to," Sakura didn't respond, but both Kakashi and the Godaime had a nasty feeling that they didn't really want to know;

"Details?"

"In here," Tsunade threw a scroll at her which she caught effortlessly and began reading, "Kakashi and your ANBU team will go as well,"

"Why my team, as well? Are you expecting trouble?"

"Not from Naruto-" Sakura opened her mouth to protest but Tsunade didn't give her an inch, "Your team are good and if things escalate, you'll need them…you leave tomorrow at six, advise your team Sakura… And if he leaves Fire you are **_not_** to purse, got it?" Both shinobi nodded, "Alright, dismissed," They were out of her office like a shot, Kakashi was almost forced to jog to catch up with her, despite his slightly longer stride.

"Sakura, hold up a moment, will you?" She looked over her shoulder but not around far enough to meet hi gaze, she didn't slow,

"What do you want?"

"To be able to trust you." He replied evenly but with an undertone of finality; she slowly her pace slightly, just enough for him to catch up to her side, "I know that you can't just 'leave it alone' when it comes to Naruto…you've been through too much for that. But I need to know that I can count on you not to do anything rash, to endanger your team _or_ Naruto…"

His voice was a cool and steadfast as Sakura always associated with him, she instinctively knew the truth to his words but the part of her that still ruled with emotion – _her inner_ – was shaking with rage, or injustice, or the desire to fight – she wasn't entirely sure.

"I know, I _know_…and I understand that none of this is ideal, and if anything, I should be the _last_ person to go and see him… I know how to control myself, Kakashi, but I will _not_ let him think he can waltz back and ignore the damage done – or worse, not realize there had been any,"

They held each other's gaze for few moments and Kakashi was forced to admit, that over the past month or so that he'd spent training with Sakura, he'd gotten used to (and rather liked) the little sparks of life and passion he saw – usually when they were training – he liked how vibrant and gleeful she could be.

As though she really was human and real, a flesh and blood _woman_ with lust for life and knowledge; but _this_? This in front of him wasn't Sakura – it was the hard-arse ANBU captain who trusted even her own team _just enough_ to get by, a cold and calculating assassin, who surprised even these who'd known her from childhood – those who professed to be 'closest' to her, were still some miles distant.

And he felt demoted right back to a stranger whose land she's trespassed on and got chastised for; here – due to circumstance – they were forced again to interact and the polite, but ice-cold, distance between them told it all.

Those cool green eyes observed him, scrutinized him, with an invisible mask of concealed emotion, perfect enough, to rival his own; it was an eerie look to be on one who seemed so innocent and fragile.

"I understand, Sakura, but he was still once your teammate, a citizen of Konoha and a fellow shinobi – if I see you about to use deadly force on him I will stop you," Sakura searched his single visible eye for a moment, she had to forcibly resist the urge to say _'what makes you think you'll be able to?'_ But knew better than to say something so potentially incriminating;

"Even if _he_ uses it on _me_?" Kakashi was shocked for a moment,

"He wouldn't do that, you _know_ he wouldn't do that,"

"He used to say the same about Sasuke," And with that, she turned on her heel and continued striding off down the street, way from the administration buildings; Kakashi remained stock still for a moment.

Although his posture and features were carefully schooled in perfect mimicries of indifference, inside, he had never felt quite so helpless and useless whilst watching the chaotic fallout of the old _Team 7_.

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><p>Sakura stood at the gates waiting for Kakashi, her team had arrived well on time, as she'd instructed yesterday; afterwards, she'd gone back to the training grounds to work on her space-time ninjutsu.<p>

She'd gotten it to the point where she could essentially summon herself and slightly beyond; her work on the barriers was getting better and she was now able to move her body as a whole through space but not time.

She brushed up on what she'd learned the day before, and she was now ready to face Naruto – regardless of what could happen. She still wasn't able to use the barriers to 'remove' parts of her body but she knew that would take a hell of a lot of time to perfect and for now – she was satisfied that she could realistically use the jutsu, given enough time to organise her chakra.

She spent the rest of her time meditating in the quietest spot she could find, mentally preparing herself for what would, no doubt, be the most emotionally charged mission she'd had in years.

A few hours later, Kakashi casually strolled into view (and Raiden gave a short breath of irritation just loud enough for Sakura to hear, apparently, the ANBU's awe of the powerful _Hatake Kakashi_ had been successfully dispelled when said shinobi appeared out of nowhere while she and Raiden were on that mission, months ago against the Iwa syndicate, and robbed Raiden of precious rest.) looking as causal as ever.

Apparently, neither Taiki or Akihiko had yet to experience a mission in the company of the ex-ANBU and were brimming with excitement – _they would soon be freed of it_ – Sakura thought with a twisted smirk of rueful pleasure,

"Sorry I'm late, I found a-"

"Are you ready to leave?" Sakura cut across, silver-hair nodded, "Alright, we have a few hours to catch up, and I'll detail another plan later. I'll take point, Akihiko next, then Raiden, Taiki and Kakashi last… Please call your summons and have them scout ahead." She spoke to Kakashi lastly as he nodded in acknowledgment, "I don't expect and danger, but I don't want our destination or purpose to be revealed, keep your eyes sharp and don't do anything _stupid_,"

Her eyes fell to Akihiko with her last word but she turned back to Kakashi, ignoring his open mouth of protest. Kakashi quickly formed the hand seals and slammed his palm to the ground with a light chant of,

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" The entire pack of ninken appeared, with Pakkun looking carefully around before addressing his master,

"What's up?" Akihiko, Raiden and Taiki looked rather shocked to see the tiny pug speak in such a manner (and for such a cute looking dog to have such a gruff voice),

"I need all of you to head south in search of Uzumaki Naruto… you still remember his scent?" They all nodded,

"Has he finally returned then? Given up on revenge has he?" the Pug asked, leaping off Bull's head and down to the ground to scratch behind his ear,

"No, this one is blonde, loud mouthed, the nine tails jinchuuriki," Kakashi explained quickly, noting the amazed expressions of Sakura's teammates, apparently, she hadn't explained that bit yet,

"W-whoa, _we're_ being sent to locate Uzumaki? I thought-" Taiki began, clearly slightly unsettled by the idea,

"I will explain the rest of the mission later, until then, I don't want to hear any conjecture about him or this mission, got it?" Sakura's words were harsher than they're used to, steadying himself slightly, Taiki nodded a definite affirmative, "Right, let's get the hell on with this mission," She turned on her heel and darted into the trees; she was quickly overtaken by Kakashi's ninken, of whom, Pakkun felt into step beside her,

"It's good to see you again, Sakura-chan, it's been a while,"

"It has," The pug noted the tone in her voice, and issued a sharp nod before leaping away as the rest of her team caught her up.

Sakura set a punishing pace as they flew steadily southbound, she couldn't help the fierce sense anxiety gnawing at her; she had literally _no_ idea what to expect from confronting Naruto – would he still possess that insistent optimism? Would he be world-weary and jaded, like she? Would he still recognise her?

She hadn't any answers for any of them and already the darkness was growing, holding her hand out, she slowed to a pause; the rest of her team catching up in seconds,

"Alright, we'll stay here for tonight, you two go and find something to catch and cook, would you?" She directed to Kakashi and Akihiko, both of whom nodded and sprang away, "Raiden, go and set a few traps which will alert us to any intruders, but be careful not to set them for lethal strikes,"

"Hai, Taichou," She nodded and turned to Taiki,

"C'mon, let's get a fire started," They worked quickly and by the time that the fire had settled, Kakashi and Akihiko had returned with a few dead rabbits which were promptly skinned and gutted and set over the fire to cook, they all sat around waiting for their meal to cook.

"Alright, we should arrive at the spot Naru-Uzumaki was spotted last, with another two hours of running. We'll scout the area thoroughly and see if we can determine his motives or current whereabouts from there, then, based on whatever your nin-dogs report, Kakashi, we'll follow up on any leads,"

"What happens when we find him?" Raiden cocked his head to the side slightly, as he asked the question,

"Just observe, but alert me as soon as possible – primarily I want you to observe his behaviour, his attitude, who are his friends? If he attacks, note his position then retreat – _don't engage him!_ I doubt you'll face too much trouble, but keep out of his way and don't speak to him – got it?"

The entire group nodded and Sakura purposefully ignored Kakashi's pointed stare for speaking about Naruto as though he were a random rogue they'd been assigned to capture. Sakura turned her attention to the now cooked rabbits as she began to divide them equally into five,

"Alright, I'll take first watch tonight, then you, Akihiko, Raiden, Taiki and finally Kakashi," They all nodded as she dished out dinner, along with some tea she'd brewed. She sat a little further back from the fire as the remains of the team sat close to it, long shadows stretching away making her feel even more distant.

She could feel licks of warmth from the orange glow, highlighting the faces of Raiden and Akihiko as they sat eating and exchanging a few words; the fire flickered and crackled occasionally making Sakura feel strangely enclosed, as though she were in a small room, but the surrounding darkness was too thick to see the perimeter.

The night air was slightly warmer than in Konoha, but it was still chilly and the coolness her skin felt was juxtaposed with how warm the fire looked; finishing off the last of her dinner and sipping at the hot tea, the figure adjacent to her nearly startled her.

She looked up to see Kakashi staring down, his entire right side bathed lightly in the orange gloom, she felt almost frozen for a moment, just meeting his unreadable, one-eyed gaze,

"Sakura," He lowered himself to a crouch, on the balls of his feet with his forearms on his jutting knees, his gaze didn't move from hers and they held a silent stand-off, "What are you going to do to Naruto, when you find him?" His voice was low and steeled, as though he both feared but was unsure of her response; she finally broke his gaze to look back over to the fire, catching the short laugh given off by Akihiko – doubtlessly at one of Raiden's jokes,

"Talk, first, I want to assess him – see if he's changed, if he has any intent on returning, if he bears any ill-will to us or Konoha… To see if he's still _Naruto_ or if he's Uzumaki," The silence stretched for a few moments as Kakashi observed the kuniochi lit, but not yet illuminated by, the fire,

"…I was hoping those were questions you wouldn't need to ask," She flicked her gaze back to him,

"If he'd left in a different manner, I wouldn't need to…but considering…"

"Considering..?" He wasn't even _sure_ how Naruto had left, he'd been on an ANBU ops mission at that point, and it was months after by the time he'd returned, he hadn't so much as set eyes on Sakura before he left again; Tsunade didn't give much in the way of details. He couldn't be sure if the flash in her eyes was because of the fire or something else,

"Never mind…you weren't there either,"

"If there's something I need to know about-"

"It won't change your grasp of the situation; I just need to speak to him is all," Her eyes twisted back to 'cold, hard and aloof', "As soon as your ninken report in, inform me," Kakashi paused for a split second, before nodding sharply and deciding against pushing her any more.

Not for the first time, he wished that he'd been present when Naruto decided to leave; he knew that he wouldn't have been able to dissuade Naruto – the distance between them had always been too great for that – but for as much as Tsunade had informed him, he was only now beginning to realize that the bigger picture maybe more convoluted than he'd anticipated.

…

The night and early hours of the next morning passed quickly and Sakura was surprised to find herself stood face to face with her old friend and teammate so soon. He'd grown up, grown into himself – there was a semblance of boyishness about him, but his still cerulean eyes told of dark days past and deep anguish felt. She'd kept her mask over her face, unwilling to allow him anything which might discern her intent or feelings,

"Naruto," She spoke whilst organising her chakra ready to pull any jutsu,

"I sensed you were nearby… with Kakashi too… Why, were you looking for me?" His voice was surprisingly level, holding far less excitement than she remembered,

"Why are you in Fire? What are you intentions?" He looked slightly confused, cocking his head,

"I have no intentions… I am merely passing through – did you think I would attack?" Sakura gritted her teeth, her fingers itching to pull out a kunai but she resisted, "I'm surprised you're in ANBU, how long have you been a member? What about Root? And Sai?" Sakura brushed his questions off,

"Over three years and I don't know… What are your _intentions_, Uzumaki?" He flinched slightly at the use of his surname, but allowed it to slide, for the moment,

"I'm just passing through, I'm not here to cause trouble,"

"How am I supposed to know? You've been gone for over four years," He looked _slightly_ regretful,

"I _had_ to Sakura-ch…Sakura, I thought you knew that,"

"How could I? It's not as if you discussed it with me, or explained – you just took off and left Tsunade-sama to tell me that it was more than a mission you were going on," She managed to keep the majority of the resentment from her voice; he sighed heavily,

"Okay, so I should have told you…"

"Why didn't you? Did I really mean so little?"

"Of course not!" He shouted back, taking a step towards her; the thick jumper he was wearing, still dashed heavily with bright orange and black, swayed slightly in the strong breeze which washed over them, he looked stern, his long hair ruffled,

"Tsunade-sama wants to know when you're coming back and why you're here, in Fire, now,"

"Move your mask, Sakura, I want to see you,"

"No. Answer the questions or I'll assume you have hostile intent," She whipped a kunai out of nowhere and stepped back into an aggressive stance. Kakashi chose that moment to appear,

"Kakashi! Talk some sense into her! You must be team leader, right?" Sakura had to forcibly resist the urge to leap forward and punch him as hard as she could,

"Actually, Naruto, she is leader for this mission…and hello again, by the way,"

"Huh?" He suddenly looked very _Naruto-like_ as his mind processed what Kakashi's words really meant as Sakura focused her hidden eyes on the blonde in front of her. It all came gushing back – memories of the old days of Team 7, of Naruto and Sasuke's fights, of Kakashi's words directed to them and his faith in _them_, rather than her. Whenever her mind had taken her back to thinking about those days, she realized that the only time she felt truly weak and useless, were during those days.

It galled her slightly, as she knew, as well, that it wouldn't matter if she pounded Naruto into the ground and beat-_thrashed_ him in combat of every sort; Naruto would always, _always_ see her as weak, little Sakura-chan.

He simply wasn't _able_ to see her as anything else, no matter what she did – and it wasn't worth her effort trying to convince him otherwise. _Nothing_ she or anyone could do, would enable him to think any differently of her, he _couldn't_ think of her as a woman and an ANBU captain.

And neither did Kakashi.

Despite the fact that they'd grown closer over the past few months, Sakura knew that Kakashi really didn't see her as an adult; as much as he tried to hide it, he gave himself away. His words were still dictatorial and he still put himself in the 'sensei' role whenever he could.

He, too, was incapable of seeing her as anything more than a weak little girl – just one that so happened to have been of use to him and he to her. Still, _his_ use was over now, of all the information she'd collected mean that she was able to train alone and could move on alone, she didn't need him anymore and frankly it was better he left soon rather than later.

So, _screw them_, if they thought they could get away with their behaviour – and that she would accept it, then they could go to hell; she had her team and her duty to the village – and Gai and Ino. Kakashi had been a useful source of information and a pleasant enough distraction, but it was overdue for cessation. No doubt he knew it too.

Smiling to herself, that the realization that – apart from not needing either of them, or caring about their opinions – she was again free from the painful memories both men brought back and the heavy burden, which had settled on her shoulders, was immediately lifted; she abruptly turned to Kakashi, re-sheathing her kunai and speaking in a cold and stern voice, masking her realisation;

"Find out what you can from him, report back when you're done," Before either had a chance to respond she disappeared, leaping away to meet up with her team, whom she knew were observing not far away. Her breathing felt far lighter – although still slightly bitter towards Naruto and her ex-sensei – it wasn't quite as crushingly distracting as it was before.

She was _done_ with 'Sakura-chan', even if _they_ weren't.


	13. Chapter 13

Apparently, the title is a proverb inscribed above the Jounin lounge in _Naruto_…

..

.

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 13: Human Life Is Varied _

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><p>"What's wrong with her? Why did she just leave?" Kakashi slowly turned back towards Naruto, both his hands in his pockets,<p>

"I'm not sure…but right now, I'm curious about a few things… Why did you leave in the first place? I was away on a long-term mission when you left,"

"I remember…After what happened with Sasuke and the war…I-I just couldn't, it was killing me to look at everyone so happy after Sasuke's death and I needed to go and clear my head," Kakashi nodded,

"I can understand that… Are you ever planning on returning?" The younger male sighed, and averted his eyes off his old teacher, running a hand through his messy, golden hair,

"I don't know…I think I'm almost ready to return home, I think I've sorted out most of what I needed to and I feel more at peace than I have done since the Falls of Truth, when I took control of the Nine-Tails," Kakashi smiled faintly at how mature Naruto seemed, his speech now lacking most of the 'dattebayos' which used to so freely punctuate it,

"Tsunade wants to see you, Naruto, I think she misses you," He gave a short grin, hoping that his old sensei was speaking the truth, "By the way, the Nine-Tails hasn't been giving you any trouble, has it?"

"Nah, he and I good friends now! He was one who I _could_ get rid of all the hatred in him! Well, most of it," Naruto gave a bright, sparkling smile,

"Great!" Kakashi couldn't resist smiling either, pleased that his former student had done so well alone, "You worked hard for the village, Naruto, they miss you and there's still place reserved for you, there,"

"He, he, he, I know… Just a few more weeks, Kakashi and I'll be back – ready to take baa-chan's place!" Kakashi gave a lopsided smirk,

"It'll be a little while yet – I think Tsunade will spite you for leaving so abruptly and for so long," The boyish, determined expression Kakashi knew so well returned,

"Sounds like a challenge,"

"Well, you'll have to return home to find out,"

"I will…and…do you think that Sakura…" He trailed off, looking uncertain,

"I don't know, but that's only something the two of you can work out," Naruto nodded, a smile returning to his face,

"It was good to see you again, Kakashi, I missed you!" Silver-hair grinned again and nodded,

"I'll see you soon, Naruto," Kakashi turned on his heel as did Naruto and leapt back into the trees, feeling greatly eased by the conversation with the blonde, although careful to hide the smile he wanted to issue; as soon as he was a few hundred meters way from his previous position, he was surrounded by Sakura and her team,

"Ready to leave?" He nodded, surprised she was in such a hurry, but she sprang away before Kakashi could question her further, it would have to wait until they returned to Konoha.

…

As they landed in front of the large wooden gates, Sakura allowed a large sigh of relief to escape her as she marched through them, having made Kakashi tell her the details of his discussion with Naruto, during the run back, although she hadn't given him an inch with which to question her.

They were quick to Tsunade's office and even quicker with the debriefing; Tsunade's smile slightly wider than Sakura had seen for some time at the news Naruto would be returning home (and at the fact that he and Sakura hadn't had a physical confrontation).

With a smile and a nod, she dismissed them, requiring a full report from both Kakashi and Sakura by tomorrow, as they filed out of the administration building, Sakura turned to her team, preparing to disappear as soon as she was able,

"Alright, you guys rest up tomorrow and we'll meet for a long training session the day after,"

"Hai, Taichou," They sounded a little exasperated, but chipper enough,

"Forehead!" A familiar voice cut across anyone's next words, the pink-haired ANBU whirled around,

"Ino! You're finally back!" Sakura's friend and rival had been away on a six month mission and Sakura had missed _this_ blonde,

"Never mind that, I heard about who you've just gone to see," Ino's blue eyes sparkled at the prospect new and juicy information,

"How do you know that?"

"I have my ways," The blonde gave a small, self-satisfied grin,

"_Ino_…well come on, I want to hear about your mission too," The blonde nodded as both women darted off; Kakashi had been hoping to catch a moment alone with the pink-haired kuniochi, but now someone else has whisked her away; Kakashi sighed as her team too darted off, it would have to wait until tomorrow, it seemed.

Sakura and Ino sat down at a small tea shop, tucked away in a district of Konoha, close to the Nara, Yamanka and Akimichi clan compounds, well _away_ from where she'd left Kakashi.

"So?" Ino asked excitedly, mildly surprised at just how happy it had made her to set eyes on her old friend after so long; but before Sakura could answer, a waitress appeared and took their orders for a large pot of tea between them, Sakura had wanted sake, but thought it was still a little _too_ early for an alcoholic beverage,

"It was odd really, I had no idea what to expect when seeing him," Sakura sighed,

"Well, what did he look like? Was he handsome?"

"Heh, I suppose so… he's matured too, grown into himself…"

"So what's the problem?"

"I think I figured out what bothered me so much…" Sakura paused as their tea arrived and whilst she poured out a cupful for both Ino and herself, "Naruto still saw me as a kid… I was just Sakura-chan to him and I always will be; he's not able to see me as anything different. He was surprised I was in ANBU and assumed that Kakashi was the team leader on that mission,"

"Well, to be fair, I was surprised when you made it into ANBU and when you made captain – I know you were good, _damn_ good, but it just seemed so unlike you…and Naruto's been away for years,"

"I know that! It's more like… I could just sense it in them – he and Kakashi – that I'll always been 'Sakura-chan' to them and nothing more, that even though I've been training with Kakashi for the last month and a bit-"

"Whoa, what?" Ino looked visibly shocked, "I though you didn't speak with him, anymore,"

"I didn't… but I sort of ran into him on a mission, I needed his help with some stuff and he agreed so we've been training," Sakura gave a shrug, taking a sip of jasmine tea;

"I thought you were training with Gai?"

"I still do, but I was working on some stuff only Kakashi could help with because of his eye," Ino nodded, although curious as to what, she knew better than to prod – and if Sakura wanted her to know, she'd have said it by now,

"So, what was it like working with your old sensei?"

"Just that, even though we were on fairly even footing, he still slipped right back into sensei mode – he still treats me as though I were a genin;" Sakura took another sip, "But I realised this when I was stood in front of Naruto – because of all that happened with Team 7, I don't think any of us will find it easy to break the awkward status-quo – I was always a 'weak little girl who needed their protection' and I don't think they can accept anything different of me,"

"Don't say that, Forehead, I don't think they'd mean anything like that… and you showed them how strong you are back in the Fourth war, right? How can they still doubt you now – even after all that – with you as ANBU captain?"

"First impressions are hard to break, Ino, I think the boys of Team 7 got on too well, back then, there wasn't all that much space for me, and now? Definitely not…besides, I have my team and you and Gai – what do I need them for?"

Sakura flashed a hearty grin which she genuinely felt, pouring out another cup of tea. Ino eyed her friend carefully, knowing how much it would hurt if she lost Shikamaru or Chouji – the three still being exceptionally close friends, despite occasional disagreements,

"Did Naruto say when he was coming back?"

"In a few weeks, apparently,"

"Wow, really?" Sakura nodded as Ino shook her head lightly, "I can't believe how long he's been gone and what's changed during; I've only been gone for six months, but hell, things change so quickly! Did you know that Tenten made ANBU too?" Sakura's eyes widened slightly; she hadn't met with Gai recently, unfortunately,

"No I didn't…How _do_ you get all of your info so fast?" Sakura allowed a slightly lopsided grin to form on her face, as Ino's smug smirk returned,

"I'll have you know that reconnaissance and intelligence gathering are my top skills, Sakura, I though you knew that," The pink kuniochi rolled her eyes at her friend,

"Right, right," They both sipped more tea for a little while, "So how'd your mission go?"

"Good, we were staked out in Water Country for the entire time; I suppose I always suspected this, but god_damn_ Mist shinobi are paranoid…Still, I can't say too much, but Water County wasn't too much like I thought it would be… some of the forests and fields there were amazing!"

"Fields? In Mist?"

"I know, right? But it was quite spectacular… almost like they had huge floating gardens or something… I wouldn't mind spending a holiday there…once political tensions have cooled, of course," Sakura grinned, she could definitely relate to that, more often than not on her travels though out the world, she found little pockets which brought her a great inner peace – and would have liked to have spent time there, were it not for enemy shinobi breathing down her neck.

* * *

><p>Sakura was dressed in her typical black training outfit and was just about to leave her apartment for a training session with Gai, stopping only to pull on a thick jumper, over her long-sleeve shirt (itself over another, skin tight layer).<p>

Just as she was tying her long hair up into a messy bun, not really wanting to (disliking the thought of a sure blast of cold air to the back of her neck, when she stepped out) but knew its necessity during training.

Just as she'd finished putting her hair up and clipping her pouch-laden belt around her hips, a sudden knock at the door alerted her attention, she opened it to find an unwelcome visitor,

"Kakashi…What is it?"

"I wanted to talk about yesterday," Sakura couldn't contain her sigh, "Why did you suddenly leap away from Naruto?"

"I had nothing further to say to him…now, if you don't mind, I'm going to be late," Sakura attempted to side step him, but his larger frame meant that he essentially blocked the doorway, and her exit,

"What does that mean, 'nothing more to say to him', you barely said anything,"

"I know and surprise you as it may, I learned a lot from even that brief exchange," Sakura was sure to keep her face passive and voice even,

"I know that seeing him again wasn't easy…" She merely raised an eyebrow, Kakashi didn't need to hear her voice to detect the sarcasm, "…How about we go and train?" He finished awkwardly, unsure what to say or, surprisingly, how to act,

"I'm already scheduled to train with someone today,"

"Who? Gai?"

"That's right…"

"When, then? Your jutsu still needs perfecting,"

"You're under no obligation, Kakashi – I needed your help for some things and you've helped me. Yes, there are still a few things, but I can do that alone or with the help I have from others. Thank you for all your help, but it isn't needed anymore, you can go back to doing whatever you were, before," She shrugged, finally forcing him out of the way with a nudge of her shoulder. She tuned to lock the door,

"And if I _want_ to continue training with you?" He was still stood pretty close, apparently realising that if he gave her too wide of a berth, she'd take advantage and disappear, she shot him a look which screamed, 'why would you want to?', "I'm sure Tsunade would want your technique as perfect as possible and considering how far we've worked together…"

"A ninja should never allow another to see all of his techniques," She recited as she stepped away, he trod in front of her again and she stared him down for a few minutes, looking as though she were forming an angry sentence.

Instead, she was secretly gathering her chakra and created a chakra-barrier[1] around herself; Sakura then stepped forward and walked right through him.

She heard him choke slightly as his reaction was of utter surprise, she 're-solidified' [she remained visible through the barrier, appearing as normal but was intangible; after releasing the jutsu and barrier, she returned to her state of tangibility] as she continued to walk away down the staircase,

"Seems pretty good to me," She spoke nonchalantly as Kakashi span around staring at her as though he's seen a ghost, she was almost out of sight as he crept down the steps towards her, gathering himself,

"I apologise if… I underestimated how badly meeting with Naruto would make you feel," She ground to a halt not choosing to answer him, knowing that he'd essentially hit on a half-truth to her change of heart, but he didn't know – or recognise – the whole story, he continued before she could walk away, "…Is there anything…you want to ask me? Anything you want to talk about?" His voice was as cool and passive as ever, but Sakura could easily detect the tone of concern (and perhaps exasperation),

"No, thank you," She continued walking, quickly leaving the Copy Nin behind as she now desired more than she had previously done so, to be in the presence of Gai and his informal, familiar and non-pressuring presence.

Kakashi watched his former student walk away, still uncertain as to what might have happened to throw her for such a loop – he guessed that it _must_ be because of the incident with Naruto, but why would that make her reluctant to train with him?

He definitely felt as though he was missing something – some key which he needed to fit the rest of it together. He followed Sakura across Konoha, acting as though he were tracking an S class criminal, he was determined to see if she gave anything away.

As he followed her away from the administration building, no doubt to hand in her report of yesterday's mission (which he himself had done before coming to find her), Kakashi surprised himself at the realisation that the thought of not training with Sakura again, or seeing her very rarely and only on a pass-by basis (due to some unknown factor which made her _want_ to stay away from him) left a nasty knot in the Jounin's stomach.

He found himself a careful hideout and observed she and Gai's training session, the green spandex wearing Jounin apparently knew how to bring a smile to her face and Sakura appeared to be having fun – although her hits were quite heavy.

If Kakashi didn't know better, he's say that she was taking the opportunity to vent; after a few hours of rigorous battling (Kakashi secretly hoped never to have to face Sakura in such a state on the battlefield) they eventually collapsed from exhaustion. The training field having suffered a few rents in the earth from chakra-charged blows,

"Sakura…it's been a while since you were this spirited," Sakura offered a half-hearted laugh, as Kakashi pushed up his hatai-ate enough to read both their lips as they spoke,

"Sorry… I suppose I've just been a bit on edge, recently," She pulled herself to a seated position as she ran a hand through her hair, tugging out the now tattered and limp bun which had previously held her hair up, most of her locks now fraying over her face in many tiny, messy bangs;

"Has something happened?" Sakura gave a large breath of exasperation, combing a hand through her hair, allowing the action to sooth her slightly,

"I saw Naruto,"

"Eh?" Gai sat bolt upright from his slouch at Sakura's words, "Where? How?"

"My ANBU team, Kakashi and I were sent on a mission to observe him as he's back in the Fire Country… I knew I'd find it really draining…but…" Kakashi waited, feeling very tense (and resisting the urge to lean forward) as Gai seemed to be doing the same thing – both waiting with bated breath, as though neither dared make even the slightest sound or movement, in case they missed anything,

"I have to admit, I found it surprising, that he still couldn't really see me as anything beyond 'Sakura-chan'… I suppose I wanted him to be able to see me as more than some weak girl who needed protection… I wanted some respect from him… _and Kakashi,_" She added as an almost silently-muttered after-thought, she sighed as Gai issued a sharp nod,

"Respect is a difficult thing…it takes time to be earned from strangers and yet… those whom we know often cling to their old ideas about us…not easily giving us the opportunity to show them that we have changed and grown – so earning the respect from peers and elders can be more difficult than from strangers…" Gai smiled ruefully, memories of his own ideas about Tenten and Sakura resurfacing, "Did Naruto mention anything about his return?"

"In a few weeks, apparently," Gai nodded,

"When he gets to see you in action, rather than just speaking to you, I'm certain he will revise his ideas about you," Kakashi observed carefully, understanding beginning to dawn on him at why she was out-of-sorts,

"I understand what you're saying, but even if all of that does work, it still feels like I'm losing somehow…like he won't even understand what the problem was to begin with – if he notices at all," Gai clasped his chin between his forefinger and thumb and nodded his head whilst humming agreements,

"Hmm, hmm, that is very true…but now! Training should be your focus, Naruto isn't here to distract you, so don't let even the thought of him do so!" Kakashi eyed Sakura as she beamed at his statement and she raised a hand to her temple in a salute,

"Hai!" She looked infinitely more relaxed that Kakashi had seen for a while; he rose to his feet and subtly leapt away, his mind running over the information which had recently been made available to him.

It made sense that after the encounter with Naruto – and he and Naruto's subsequent interaction – that Kakashi's actions towards Sakura had been perhaps…_disrespectful_. He had caught himself on more than one occasion slipping all too easily into the 'sensei' role – even when she knew more about something than he did, or when she was leading the training session.

Kakashi took himself away to his little garden, intent on finding some peace to analyse his own actions over the past few months and work on how he was going to change his actions.

He wanted to continue training with Sakura and he had meant it when he said that he wanted to form something beyond amiable professionalism with her, but as he sped through the trees, he knew that friendships cannot be between people who aren't equal.

How could he possibly be her friend if he doesn't see her as an equal? Her little display earlier of showing how advanced her jutsu is already, has proved, in many ways that she's surpassed him. Sakura was right, he really did still see her as little 'Sakura-chan' – some intelligent and strong, although nowhere near strong enough – Chuunin of all those years ago.

Even during the Fourth Ninja World War, he'd been impressed by the work she'd done and how her and Shizune's research had helped the joint army hugely – but as it wasn't battle orientated, most of her work wasn't – he assumed her still to be the weak Genin he'd met initially.

As he landed on the narrow path to the side of the central circle, in his family garden, he allowed his eyes to trace a lazy wandering over the garden; ever since he caught Sakura here, she had again become a part of his life.

After Naruto left, he'd thought there was nothing keeping him in the village on a regular basis and so left himself back to some of the longer and more involved ANBU ops work.

He wasn't even sure why he'd forgotten about Sakura, but he had (just as he had, back when Naruto left with Jiraiya after _that_ set of Chuunin exams) and when they crossed paths again, years later, he still couldn't see her for the woman and capable shinobi that she was.

His eye lingered over the silvery, but bold flowers of one corner; he may not want to say goodbye to her – but even after he promised himself to look at her as a human being rather than a _female_ – he may now be on the receiving end of _her_ goodbye, if he can't find it in himself to treat her above a 'student' role.

He'll catch up with her when he's next able – he's certain that she'll be willing to at least train with him and all he'll need are a few occasions to show her that he can see her as an adult and someone he respects.

He will _not_ fail this time, not again.

..

.

[1] Sakura here, is pushing her chakra to her opening points - which would create like a 'film' over her body which would act as the barrier; rather than channenling her chakra through her hands as one would a conventional jutsu. I know this is a bit liberal for jutsu theory, but bear with me, please XD


	14. Chapter 14

Lol, from the episode 'You Are Cordially Invited…' from DS9 – Worf and Jadzia Dax's marriage – Cirella [Martok's wife, commander of the Klingon ships against the Dominion during the war] marries them, during which, she tells the story of how the gods created the first Klingons, apparently, the title is how they forged the first heart – '...and it beat with such ferocity that it frightened the god s who created him!' XD I love star trek [_all_ Star Trek ^-^] waaayyy too much!

I do love the Klingons – they get to punish those who disrespect or ill-treat them, honour is important, which we seems to have forgotten now a-days…

Also, with the medic bit in this (you'll know what I mean when you read it), I came across this idea on another fanfic ages ago (and I can't remember title nor author -.-') but I found it a really interesting idea :D Tho I hope it doesn't seem to fantastic to you...XD

..

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**_Go No Further_**

_Part 14: They Forged The Heart With Fire and Steel_

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><p>"TenTen! It is a glorious day that you have succeeded in your dream to become a member of ANBU! I cannot express how proud I am of your achievement!" Gai was stood in at the end of the table with a cup of sake raised; Sakura was sat leisurely next to where Gai was, with Lee at her side, Neji next to him and TenTen beside the Hyuuga.<p>

Each with a beer, aloe-vera water and two sake's respectively, (Lee's tolerance for alcohol was still shockingly low, apparently). Everyone raised their drink as a salute to Tenten and her recent achievement, they all took a sip in unison as Gai took his old seat opposite Sakura.

Said pink-haired kuniochi twisted to face into the table a little more, taking another sip of cool beer – she'd suspected that it would end up a long night of drinking and whilst she could more than handle her sake, she needed to be in good shape for training her team the next day.

"Feels good, doesn't it, TenTen, that us _women_ happen to be the highest ranking shinobi at the table," Sakura grinned at her sort-of friend (never having become very close to the other kuniochi, but on good terms, nonetheless) as she took another sip, noting, with great amusement, how the three remaining males' eyes twitched slightly at the realization.

The most subtle being Neji (he being unable, currently, to join ANBU due to his responsibilities to the main House of the Hyuuga, otherwise he would no doubt be captain by now) and Lee, due to his limitation to taijutsu only, meant that for a majority of missions, he would be unsuitable.

Gai himself, having never had any desire to join ANBU, meant that he'd remained a Jounin – albeit an exceptionally skilled one. TenTen laughed in response as she knocked back another cupful of sake,

"It _does_ feel good,"

"Sakura…TenTen," Gai rather plaintive complaint, combined with his pathetic look, prompted a bout of pity from Sakura,

"Well, I suppose that none of us would be where we are without you, Gai,"

"Sakura-san is right! Gai-sensei has always supported us and we have achieved because of it!" Gai beamed at Lee's rejoinder, as Neji subtly rolled his eyes, although a pleasant but non-committal smile appeared on his face, apparently, the stuffy Hyuuga had eventually warmed to his old teammates.

"Do you know who your team is, yet, TenTen?"

"Iie, I'm supposed to meet Ibiki tomorrow to get my tattoo and for a briefing – I assume I'll meet my team then," Sakura nodded,

"That's usually right; but make sure you drink loads of water before you go to bed – the last thing you want to do is face orientation on a hangover, _trust me_," Sakura nodded, shuddering at the memories, of Tsunade's request than she and her former apprentice have 'a drink' in celebration for Sakura's then promotion. TenTen sharply nodded,

"I will…Oh, I heard that Naruto's coming back in a few weeks!" Sakura forcibly resisted the urge to stiffen in her seat, _will she ever escape him?_

"Oh! Naruto-kun, yes I heard that too… I can't believe he's finally coming back after so long! I'd almost thought that he wasn't going to… You must be very pleased, Sakura-san, to have your old teammate back," Lee's well-meaning statement couldn't really have been further from the truth – or any further from topics Sakura didn't want to discuss.

"…Well…it will be odd to see him around again…I wonder if Tsunade-sama will make him take the Jounin exam?" Sakura long ago leaned, that a good way to deflect a topic she doesn't like to discuss, was to ask a question.

Naruto, during the Fourth Ninja World War, earned a field-promotion to Chuunin (a formality in Hidden Leaf, as well as other villages, was that a shinobi can only progress one rank at a time, to prevent undeserved or unfair promotions, especially in war-time).

He was due to take the Jounin exam after the war's end, but he left before it was hosted – the desire for peace and the rebuilding of the countries and villages particularly savaged by the war, meant that one hadn't been held for over a year after the war's end.

"Oh! Naruto-kun is still a Chuunin?"

"He must be, he couldn't take the Jounin exam without being formally part of the village – which he wasn't, and he was field promoted to Chuunin last I heard," Sakura cooly explained, flicking her eyes to Gai, who's expression told her that he knew the current topic of conversation wasn't a pleasant one for her.

"Well! Would anyone else like another drink? TenTen?" Gai interrupted, Sakura was thankful to him,

"Uh, another warm sake, please, Gai-sensei," He nodded, before looking to his other, once students,

"Same again, please Gai,"

"Me too," Lee chimed in after Neji,

"Sakura?"

"I'm fine thanks Gai," He nodded, knowing that Sakura hated it when people paid for things for her – she was as scrupulous about her finances as she was about everything else, she was a woman who didn't like to be in anyone's debt, no matter how small. Gai got up and wandered away as Sakura took another, thoughtful sip of beer,

"Sakura, have you got any tips for me about ANBU? Is there anything I should _watch out _for, particularly?" TenTen's assertive voice, pulled Sakura's eyes away from the door of the bar, which she had been absently watching whilst her mind wandered, back over the table to see all three sets of eyes upon her.

"Hmm… There are many things to watch out for, TenTen, there are quite a few sadists who like test another's strengths through random psychological tests. Some of the older and more twisted ones like to tell you that you aren't good enough or that Ibiki, Wataka or Tsubashi made a mistake – but don't let them get to you, you wouldn't have gotten in if you didn't deserve it,"

Sakura warned, locking her eyes with TenTen's who gave an assured nod, "But it's not too bad, the best thing you can do and trust in your instincts and put your all into every mission – your team will look out for you, especially as a rookie, but don't expect them to do everything for you; the line may be thin, but it's there alright," Sakura threw in a reassuring smile just as Gai returned with a small group of drinks,

"Sakura, if you want another beer any time soon, you'd better be quick, it's getting busy,"

"Oh, right… Thanks, Gai, I guess I'll be back in a minute," She took another quick glug of beer, although there was still quite a bit left in the glass before she rose to her feet and wandered off; she slipped through the fairly thin throng of people and made her way to the bar.

She tugged out her small pouch of money and subtly looked through what she had left, she waited patiently for the bar tender's attention, but someone else found hers before he did,

"My, my, Sakura, has anyone ever told you how _good_ you look in black?" She recognised that voice, although thankfully, she very rarely interacted with him, turning slightly, so that she could look over to set eyes on him, she gave a stiff greeting,

"Genma," He sidled in next to her, placing a hand on the small of her back and a sultry, albeit fairly charming, smile in place as his sebon twirled slightly,

"I certainly hope that you aren't here alone…although it's easily rectified," Sakura pulled his hand away and pursed her lips slightly,

"I already _have_ company, thank you;"

"Ohh, who's the lucky guy?" Sakura rolled her eyes as the bartender turned to her,

"An Asahi please ," He nodded, before looking at Genma,

"Warm sake," Genma turned back to Sakura, eyeing her carefully, "Is anything bothering you?"

"No, why would you ask?" She again removed his hand from the small of her back as she kept a grasp on his wrist,

"A lovely kuniochi, such as yourself, alone in a bar…" Sakura sighs, thankfully, as the barman returns with her drink,

"I'm only paying for mine," She informs the bartender whilst placing the money in his hand and stepping away with her beer securely in her grasp; she slips her wallet back into her pouch, hoping that out-of-sight-out-of-mind will work on Genma – especially as there are various other 'unaccompanied females' in the bar to distract him.

Just as she sat down in her old seat, resisting the urge to allow a large sigh of irritation to escape her, she took a large glug of beer as two familiar figures stepped up to the table,

"Ah! My eternal rival! I am surprised to see you here at this time!" Gai grins heartily, "And Genma too! Are you celebrating?"

"I would be…" Sakura catches Genma's gaze drifting over her, for which she silently promised payback,

"Gai… Why are you here?" Kakashi was swift to cut across before the exchange between the two could get any uglier,

"We are here to celebrate TenTen's promotion to ANBU!" Gai exclaimed gleefully, both Kakashi and Genma raised their eyebrows in surprise,

"Congratulations," Was Kakashi's succinct but polite response, whilst Genma poured himself a cupful of sake and raised it as a toast to the kuniochi before knocking it back,

"This really _is_ cause to celebrate, mind if we join you?" Gai beamed, and immediately shuffled down, forcing the younger shinobi to move over, allowing space for the two new attendees. Kakashi turned, saying he was going to fetch a drink as Genma took a seat, sliding his sebon behind his ear, under his bandana-styled haitai-ate, as he poured out another shot,

"So, TenTen, who'd you have as your examiner for the entrance test?"

"Uh, someone who called himself Wataka, although, there were a few others present,"  
>"Ahh… Yea, I've worked with him in the past, very thorough man – doesn't do things by halves," The two continued talking for a few minutes before Lee whispered something in Sakura's ear,<p>

"Sakura-san…was it my imagination, or did you and Kakashi-san not even look at each other, when he was here just a few moments ago?" Sakura turned her head enough to look Lee in the eye,

"No, you're right, we didn't,"

"Why? Are you and he having a disagreement?" Sakura took a swift swig of beer whilst she contemplated her answer: somehow, they both _are_ and _aren't_ having a disagreement – maybe it more that she just doesn't know how to articulate herself to the masked Jounin properly.

"No…I suppose I just don't see him as much anymore…" She knew this response was neither true nor fair, but it seems the best she could manage;

"Aah… Weren't you training together? At least, that was what Gai-sensei told me, before,"

"Hmm, some training regimes can last for only a short time, there were just a few issues I needed his help with, but it's been resolved now,"

"Oh…and he doesn't want to train with you further?" Damn, she couldn't well say 'no' while Kakashi is in ear-shot, could she? As Sakura was internally debating her answer, Kakashi himself reappeared at the table and took a seat; Lee spoke again before Sakura could take control of the situation,

"Ah, Kakashi-san, I was just discussing with Sakura-san, about your training sessions," Sakura looks over the edge of her beer at him to find his dark eye staring right back at her, his gaze averted as he pours himself a drink, "She says that you are no longer training together," _Damn you, Lee!_

"Hmm…well, Sakura and I have resolved most of the issues which prompted the training to begin; although I don't necessarily think its cause enough to stop training, we both have many commitments which mean finding the time for extra training can be difficult," _Eh? What's with his change of heart?_

"Ah, that's true…but it's good to train with someone when you haven't done so for a while, or those who understand if it's something specific which needs working out," Lee, like Gai, apparently, could be strangely insightful; Sakura again found her gaze meeting his in a silent conversation, both Sakura and Kakashi issue a short

"Hmm," Of approval at the same time; Kakashi takes a blindingly fast shot of sake, then contradicted himself by pouring out the next shot agonisingly slowly,

"I suppose you're right, Lee…" Sakura trails off, her eyes fixing to the gently rippling sake in Kakashi's cup from the nudges the table receives on behalf of Genma's animated conversation with Neji and TenTen;

"Sakura," She shifts her eyes back up to him, "I want to continue the training, but I can appreciate that it isn't always that…_simple_… But if you want to, I'm certain I can find the time," Sakura can't help her involuntary eyebrow twitch as she read between the lines of Kakashi's words and tone of voice. A small, but grateful smile appears on her face as nods her head slightly, accepting his words,

"Thank you…I'll let you know whenever I'm next free," The skin around his eye crinkles slightly, showing off his smile as they both raise a glass, missing the matching, although subtle smiles of Gai and Lee.

* * *

><p>Sakura was stood in a half crouch, facing Kakashi, they've been training hard for over an hour and a half; Kakashi on the offensive with purely taijutsu (as well as using a few kunais - the occasional gnashing of blades proving that there were, indeed, two fighters) as Sakura worked on perfecting her timing with the barriers.<p>

She'd managed to work out how to use slightly smaller barriers to allow parts of her body to be shifted out of the point in space-time, but she's only gotten as far are separating upper body from lower.

There've been a few bad mistiming's and she'd taken a few hard hits (although none too dire, for her medic's training in evasion served her well) and she was exhausted from the near constant movement and chakra manipulation; thankfully, her exceptional chakra control meant that she still had a lot in reserve – and that very little was wasted each time she used her technique.

Despite this, the constant use of even only a little, was draining in itself.

"Okay… I think we can try once more…" Kakashi doesn't look too convinced, he's tired as well and it's been a while since he's trained in such an unrelenting fashion;

"Are you sure? I think we should rest a bit," Sakura shakes her head,

"Once more…come at me again," She focussed her chakra and concentrated as Kakashi darted forward again, she was almost surprised at the speed with which he moved and it disrupts her chakra slightly, she intended to create a barrier over her torso, but then decided to cover her entire body instead.

Unfortunately, her indecision caused her to miscalculate exactly where the barrier should be, and as a result, she didn't control it over her left arm properly, so as the rest of her body shifted out of time, her arm didn't – and it severed just above the elbow.

"Ugh," She immediately released the barrier after Kakashi had passed through the rest of her, and ceased his attack,

"Sakura!" His heart clenched slightly as he caught sight of her crumpling to her knees clutching the bloody stump, he appeared crouching at her side with a hand on her right shoulder as he watched, caught between fascination, awe and disgust as he could see her stem the bleeding and begin to regrow the tissue – bone and flesh seemingly begin to materialize out of nowhere.

It extended down forming the elbow joint, cartilage and tendon alike; as the bone formed - now growing to create her hand and fingers, a slower covering of muscle over laid it and finally, taught, smooth skin finishing her once severed arm.

After about a minute and a half, her arm looked as though nothing had happened – bar the missing sleeve of her shirt – and he could see her flexing the muscle beneath and fisting her hand a few times, seemingly testing it out,

"S-seems as good as new…" She was panting more heavily from before due to the effort, she leaned into him slightly, although Kakashi was still trying to wrap his brain around what happened; he can't help but allow his eyes to fix on the gory, discarded arm, still leaking blood, with a sort of grim fascination.

"Sa-Sakura…" As soon as he'd managed to speak, he feels her weight completely slump against him, passed out; he sliped his arms behind her back and under her knees as he leapt backwards, away from her now, third, arm.

Placing her gently on the ground, he swiftly formed the seals for a Goukakkyuu and vaporised the cast-off limb, he bent down again to gather Sakura's unconscious form back into his arms before he turned and headed towards her apartment.

As he walked, at a relatively slow pace (Sakura not being particularly heavy), although he's fatigued from the events of training, his mind can't help but think over what he has come to learn about the kuniochi he's carrying.

Kakashi was _astounded_ at her medical capabilities – clearly, she'd been improving those along with her offensive jutsu; he hadn't even though it was possible to re-grow a severed limb, but here was the proof of it. Sakura certainly wasn't a kuniochi to be trifled with – if she really wanted to, she could cause Kakashi some serious injury, and _then_ decide how far to heal him.

Her remarkable displays of chakra control had always impressed him – and today had been no different.

She'd managed to control the barriers exceptionally well and although she'd missed the timings here and there, the only instance where she'd failed to form the barrier properly had been at the last attempt – and he'd bet that was primarily due to fatigue.

Sakura was, now, probably the only shinobi alive to whom his sharingan was useless, he could detect how her chakra flow changed and moved as she activated the barriers, but it wasn't as if he could _see_ them.

Surprised at himself, slightly, as he let himself into her apartment and set her down on her bed before removing her zori, he realized that really had been such a _fool_ to doubt her. He removed her haitai-ate and the pouches at her waist as well, before taking himself out of her room, but remaining in her apartment. Kakashi seated himself on her sofa, having removed his own zori, he made himself comfortable and pulled out his copy of _Icha Icha Violence_.

Sakura is definitely one deserving of his unwavering respect – _and_ friendship, well, at least, he would like to be able fulfil that role, and as such, was compelled to remain in her apartment until she woke up and he could see for himself that she wasn't any the worse off for the day's training.


	15. Chapter 15

..

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* * *

><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 15: From A Heart So Undecided_

* * *

><p>Kakashi limped back into the village; he did his best to hide his injures from others, but this time, he knew that he couldn't put off facing them himself, even if it was gone midnight. The mission had been tough and required a lot of him, but he'd succeeded, of <em>course<em> he had…but unfortunately, at a cost. He made it look as though he was merely _ambling_ to the on-duty guards at the gate, he nodded a greeting and they let him pass – as soon as he was out of eye sight, he made a bee-line for Sakura's.

Her medical prowess and consummate professionalism made him feel far more comfortable in seeking her out for treatment rather than the hospital – besides, she was the best medic they had in Konoha – _still_, despite her ANBU status. He made his way somewhat sluggishly towards her apartment, praying that she'd still be in the village; he himself had been away for three weeks on an A rank mission and he hadn't the faintest idea what Sakura's schedule might be like.

Although he felt slightly guilty for barging in on her (she may be due to head out on a mission or have only just gotten back, as he had), regardless, he'd rather have Sakura treating his wounds than anyone else.

They'd spend a further week training after she'd 'regrown' her arm, and although he occasionally slipped back into the sensei-role, he found himself enjoying her company far more when he thought of her as an adult and an equal. Their relationship was steadily getting smoother and he found himself occasionally unexpectedly relaxed with her whilst they recuperated from training – occasionally over a pot of tea, or lying on the grass in the middle of the training ground.

With great effort, he managed to climb up to her balcony outside of her bedroom – _thank kami!_ He could sense her chakra within as he swiftly picked the lock on the door and let himself in. He staggered, the blood loss now beginning to get to him, he couldn't see too clearly, the only thing he could immediately register was how comfortingly warm it was in her apartment, the night air was freezing, even with a thick layer of cloud. Catching himself before he fell, found himself stood in front on her bed, where Sakura appeared to be still asleep.

Kakashi prayed that it was the blood loss, making him woozy, which made her look so tempting.

Only the duvet's corner was slung over her hips, as she lay on her side with her back to him, her long hair splayed out over the pillow, leaving the length of her legs visible, even in the dim light; the inviting curve of her waist was also prone to his greedy eye. She was wearing only a tank top and small pair of shorts; he couldn't help but allow his eye to trail down her slim legs, his injuries for some reason not hurting quite so much anymore.

She turned over onto her back, but he didn't register the movement, only allowing his eye to take in more of what he could see, as his eye trailed up over her body (delighted to see that her top had ridden up slightly, showing of a taught patch of creamy pale skin). He wished for a moment, that he was welcome in that bed and that he could have Sakura tangled around _him_ rather than that damn duvet-

"_Kakashi,_"

"Huh?" He was blearily pulled back to the present as Sakura sat up, her hair in something of an adorable bird's nest as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed as she rose to her feet,

"Where are your injuries?"

"Back, ribs, legs," Was all he could manage as she left his side for a split second to close the door to her balcony and stop the blasting cold air, she guided him out of her room and towards her living room, he was swaying a little more and struggling to remain conscious.

After a moment of trying to remember how to remain upright (and squinting in the light she'd just turned on), she guided him to sit on the end of a small futon she'd swiftly pulled out, before she began to pull off his bloodied flak jacket and shirt; he remembered no more.

As Sakura stripped off Kakashi's bloody clothes, she scanned her eyes over his body carefully; she could see immediately the dark purple – near black swelling over his ribs, doubtlessly a few had been fractured. He'd already blacked-out, but she managed to keep him seated in an up-right position, enough to get a look at his back – still profusely bleeding from a nasty puncture wound, just to the left of his spine.

She places a palm close to the puncture and gives a swift cursory exam – the puncture is deep and far worse than his ribs; although he made mention of his legs she ignores them for the moment, choosing to quickly begin healing the wound, pleased that there was no sign of infection or poison.

Sakura continued to work tirelessly for the next few hours, Kakashi was in a rather terrible state and his blood loss had been high – frankly, Sakura was amazed that he managed to make it back to her apartment without collapsing (although she'd have to have a talk with him, she was _not_ to allow a precedent to be set which meant he could turn up whenever and expect healing).

Sickly grey light was beginning to peek through the window as Sakura was finishing up bandaging Kakashi's wounds, she'd healed what she could and wrapped what she couldn't finish completely. His hair was streaked with blood (the enemy's, she presumed due to the complete lack of head injuries) and his ribs would be tender for another few days.

She'd discovered, to her anguish, that his worst injury was on his calf, and it took nearly everything she had to patch up the gaping wound – still after hours, it was only about half-healed. Eventually, though, she had to give up and she rose to unsteady feet, and made her way over to the sink in her small adjoined kitchenette to wash her hands; with one last glance over to the still unconscious Kakashi, she flicked off the light and returned to her room, descending into unconsciousness as soon as her head it the pillow.

…

_What hurts? …Aah, my ribs…my leg…_ Kakashi's rise to consciousness was slow and aching, he could sense the light before he opened his eyelids, he cracked open his one single eye and the blinding white light nearly seared his retina. It took him a moment to realise that he wasn't in danger and that he'd trekked, last night, to Sakura's apartment; as he adjusted to being awake, he could feel his wounds had been tended to, but not fully healed.

He took a few moments simply to breathe in and out, feeling his ribs protest even at the slight movement. Upon hearing the slight chink of crockery somewhere behind him, to his left, he mustered the strength to speak,

"S-Sakura?" Swift footsteps brought a splotch of pink into his eyesight, her expression was fairly passive, but he could just about see the mild concern,

"You're awake! Finally," Her hands came up and peeled away the blanket which had been pulled up to his still-masked chin, "You've been out for over thirty hours, I was getting worried…" He hissed in pain as her cool finger ran over his bare, bruised ribs, "Sorry, I didn't have enough chakra to finish healing you, I had to use most on your leg… I can't believe you managed to make it back even to Konoha, let alone here… why didn't you go to the hospital?" She shifted away the bottom of the blanket to prod, gently, around his bandaged calf;

"Aah, and risk having nurses give me sponge bath? I don't think so," He grinned slightly, as Sakura rolled her eyes and urged him to sit up, she held on to his bicep whilst wrapping her forearm around his, (so that he could grip her bicep in the same way). He was grateful for the support as he felt her fingers dance over his back, it kept him grounded through the pain of his protesting ribs;

"Okay…your back and legs are well on their way, you should be able to stand once I've sorted out your ribs," He nodded despite guessing that she couldn't see, she looked back at him and grinned slightly as she slapped something gently into his chest,

"And _this_ faced a near fatal injury, but I managed to rescue it, too," He beamed at the sight of his beloved _Icha Icha Paradise_, which, apart from having a rather nasty blood stain over the cover, and a few wrinkled pages (he remembered dropping it in a puddle just as he engaged his skilled enemy), it was generally not too worse for wear – and still legible at least.

"I'll make you something to eat first, then I'll sort your ribs out," She rose to her feet and wandered away, being sat up made him feel slightly dizzy, but his head felt a little clearer (thanks to being reunited with his beloved book) and he decided to remain as such for a little while as he could hear Sakura boiling a kettle and chinking of crockery, she reappeared at his side again,

"Water here, I'll bring you some tea in a moment, I want you to take this with the water as well, please, you lost a lot of blood and this will help your body restore it," He looked from the rather sizable blue pill up to Sakura's expectant expression, he remained still, trying to school his expression into one of unwavering refusal; the silence stretched between them for a few, long seconds;

"There are two ways this could go, Kakashi, I'm certain you'd prefer the former," Resisting a shiver, Kakashi realised that Sakura's monstrous strength and new jutsu meant that her words certainly weren't a bluff; she was right, _swallowing_ was preferable, he took hold of the pill and the water and waited for Sakura to move off, which she respectfully did.

The meal, he was delighted to find was miso soup and a bowl of rice – simple, but miso never failed to cheer him up or chase away a chill; they finished eating quite quickly and Sakura healed his ribs – unfortunately with rib injuries, their near constant use, through breathing, meant that the muscles tend to remain sore and awkward for a few days, even after healing,

"Kakashi, I need to go and see Tsunade-sama and I want you to remain here until at least tomorrow morning – your calf still needs another session or two and I want another look at your back; but how are you feeling? Any dizziness or nausea?" he shook his head signifying 'no', but he definitely agreed that he'd remain as requested, his body ached and he had to admit, that he felt quite comfortable in Sakura's living room on a small pull-out futon.

…

"Okay, I'll be back in a little while, get some rest Kakashi, and please don't do anything stupid to re-injure yourself,"

"Hai, hai," He waved absently, he was sat on her sofa (she'd returned his under shirt and trousers to him, freshly washed) with his head already buried in _Paradise_; Sakura pulled the door closed behind her and hopped silently down the stairs, her long cloak billowing behind her.

It had snowed lightly during the night, but even though the covering was little more than a light dusting (a few centimetres at deepest) the air was _freezing_ and Sakura was forced to use a temperature-regulation jutsu _and_ her cloak (and was still a little chilly). Sakura didn't mind the snow too much, she enjoyed it when it was deep and thick and she didn't have a mission.

She leapt up onto the roofs and sped off, hoping the increased circulation would be swift in warming her up.

"Enter," Tsunade's crisp voice called from within her office as Sakura opened the door and stepped in,

"You requested my presence, Tsunade-sama?"

"Ah, Sakura, right…" The Godaime shifted a few scrolls to the side as she leaned back in her chair slightly, "I'm sure you're aware of the few new recruits to ANBU," She nodded, "And I've decided what to do with the Uchiha compound," A slender pink eyebrow rose in unabashed curiosity, "I've had Ibiki and a few others with little to occupy them, to work on the compound and its finally finished…It's now a simulation training ground," Sakura had to physically prevent her mouth from dropping open in surprise (and Tsunade didn't miss the flash of excitement which crossed over her old apprentice's face),

"Sakura, I want you and Kakashi – when he's finally healed and has handed in his report – to lead a simulation battle for three ANBU teams, using the Uchiha compound, I'll leave you and Kakashi to decide how you want to organise it and what rules and battle objectives you employ, but I want these three teams specifically," She held out a scroll which Sakura took and scanned her eyes over quickly – _my team, TenTen's new team and Izumo? _

Sakura's queried slightly at the last name of the third team, but shrugged, it would be interesting to work with him, that was for sure. The scroll also contained detailed information of the major changes which had been made to the compound. Sakura could barely keep the grin off her face,

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," Sakura bowed low as the Godaime smiled at the enthusiasm she could see again in the usually stoic and guarded woman.

"You have a week to organise everything, I'll expect you to contact everyone as necessary, although they've been advised of large-scale training session, they haven't an idea what they're in for," The glint in Sakura's eye told it all,

"_Hai_, Tsunade-sama, they'll never have had training like it,"

"I'm sure…dismissed," Sakura bowed again and nearly skipped out of the door, her mind busy whirring at all of the possibilities.

Kakashi, gingerly reseated himself on the sofa with a freshly made pot of tea, he wanted to take a shower, but submitted to Sakura's authority on that one (she'd banned him from using it whilst she was out and he had to agree, he was unsteady on his feet, anyway, let alone how bad he'd be in the slippery shower) so he was forced to wait until she returned.

He was thankful that she hadn't seemed too put-out at his dropping in – or the rather embarrassing ogling he had been giving her that night (which had been unsettlingly pleasing) – and he had to admit, he was a _teeny_ bit surprised at how accepting she seemed of his presence.

He'd desperately hoped that he wouldn't be completely unwelcome or be getting in her way; he did feel comfortable around Sakura and was glad to be allowed to remain here to recuperate, rather than at the hospital – which was always so awkward and not conducive at all to healing, that he'd rather suffer his injuries.

He didn't want Sakura to think he would take advantage of her current hospitality, which he would certainly like to, whenever his injuries were un-ignorable. It wasn't fair to barge in and expect help whenever and then not at least acknowledge the sacrifice – however small or large – made for him. He knew too, that Naruto was soon to return, any day now and Naruto would want to spend time with him, training or talking; even though he wanted to allow Naruto back into his life, it would upset the delicate balance with Sakura.

It wouldn't be awkward or angry, he knew, but she would again feel like the third wheel and allow herself to slip back into the shadows and Kakashi would lose his opportunity to truly befriend her for good. He couldn't help his rather listless feeling over the difficulties posed by the two shinobi, seemingly, on either side of him; his instinct was to focus on Sakura – Naruto wouldn't take offence anyway and he'd have a lot else to deal with – but there was something else.

He didn't _want_ to give up or endanger the easy relationship with her, which had taken, shamefully, almost the entire time they'd known each other to develop. And he knew that if he didn't get himself firmly into Sakura's good books before Naruto returned, then it was likely he never would – and found the thought of that, very unsettling.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the door opening and a strangely excited looking Sakura who rushed in and swiftly closed the door, although not before bringing in an unwanted gust of cold air.

"You look happy," She tugged off her cloak,

"Oh, I am, something incredibly cool just happened,"

"Oh?" '_Cool'?_

"Tsunade-sama has turned the Uchiha compound into a simulation training ground and gets who gets the first test run?"

"You?"

"No, both of us, we've got three ANBU teams to take into a battle simulation there – Tsunade has given us free range to test them as we like," _Okay, that _is_ very cool_, he mentally conceded as she tugged out the scroll from her pouch and tossed it to him; Sakura shivered slightly, eyeing the pot on the table,

"I just made some, it's still hot," He commented his eye scanning over the scroll, feeling the prickle of excitement as he read through the details,

"Thank Kami," Sakura muttered as she grabbed a cup and found a seat next to him pouring out some tea, cradling it between her cold fingers. Kakashi allowed the scroll to slip closed as he mulled the information over, a small, imperceptible smile on his face, he only realised he was under scrutiny when he heard Sakura's voice, a matching smile on her face:

"See, I told you it was incredibly cool,"

…

Sakura was trudging back to her apartment having spent the day training with her team; she'd advised them when and where to meet her (training ground three, she and Kakashi had decided, to deflect their expectations).

It had snowed more the previous evening, until a far thicker blanket covered Konoha, as she and her current patient had spent the evening discussing how they would go about the training simulation.

Sakura never underappreciated how pleasing it was to be on the same wavelength as someone, their ideas flowed easily and they had only a few minor disagreements, which were easily rectified. Kakashi had left as agreed the next morning, his calf and ribs still a little tender, but so long as he didn't overdo it, he wasn't at risk of reopening them.

They'd parted ways with a small nod and muttered words of 'thanks', she'd given him a stern lecture before they left and _not_ dropping in on her again and expecting healing every time and that he should risk by passing the hospital on the off chance she'd be in – as ANBU she was out of the village more often than not.

He'd nodded and seemed accepting of his words, even going so far as to apologise for taking advantage of her hospitality; his apology – like his modified behaviour over the past few weeks – had been unsettling and Sakura couldn't help but feel slightly on edge as a result.

She couldn't figure out if he had an ulterior motive or, once he'd gotten what he wanted, he'd just mosey off back to his own business; she didn't want to think that he would be so cold, but Kakashi was known for being quite matter-of-fact and wasn't one to stand on ceremony or for the sake-of-feelings.

Still, she wasn't particularly uncomfortable around him and found his presence quite relaxing, so whatever it was, she decided to merely accept it for what it was and not expect too much of him. Slamming the door behind her, she pulled off her cloak and her zori, flipping the light on and turning around as she unclipped her belt of pouches, stopping dead as her eyes glued to her kotatsu.

Lying on the edge of the small table, was a bunch of brightly coloured flowers, bound together with a small elastic band, all cut and fresh by the look and smell of them; surprisingly cautiously, Sakura approached walking right up to them, seeing a combination of about four different species. She placed her belt and pouched down on the table, careful to make sure that she didn't disturb the flowers with her actions.

She couldn't name any of them (it was off Ino's back that she passed the flower-arranging kuniochi class), but they were certainly beautiful; colours of light pink and deep purple and white sat innocently atop the deep green stems, she picked the bunch up and spotted a tiny scrap of paper flutter down on to the table:

_Arigatou_.


	16. Chapter 16

Lol, was watching _The Simpsons _last night, for the first time in ages and there was the best clip ever: Homer holding a six pack of beer in his hand saying: _'don't fail me now, learning juice!' *drinks beer*_ if only that was really how we could improve our learning ability!

I really hope this chapter is enjoyed...

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 16: Where The Path Occasionally Diverges_

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><p>Sakura wasn't in a particularly good mood. She was currently stood in front of the three ANBU teams, each with their captains; Kakashi had yet to make an appearance and Sakura wasn't going to wait for him. Well, she wasn't going to wait <em>long<em> for him, she'd given him a cursory half an hour window (during which she got all of the teams to begin warming up) before she was then going to explain what the session was about.

The weather was still bitterly cold and although snowfalls were fairly regular, they were only very light and resulting in little more than a dusting; it was currently snowing, but only minuscule flakes scattered down from the thick blanket of cloud. Seeing that most of the teams were pretty much prepared, (all were dressed in their informal uniform, without masks) she gained their attention,

"Alright, I'll explain precisely what's going to happen, I'm only going to explain it once, so listen up." All of the teams were poised and looking as though they were ready for an immediate attack; "Alright, you will all work in your teams – separately, and you will all be battling against each other. This will be something of a 'capture-the-flag' scenario, where each team has a base and a scroll, which they must protect and at the same time, steal the other two scrolls from the other teams. Kakashi and I will act as random hostiles – we will be enemies to everyone, when we come across you, we will attack at random." Sakura paused for a moment to allow them time to digest the information;

"There are a few rules to this – no long range offensive jutsu, or those which spread he destruction over a wide area – this exercise will test your ability to control your jutsu usage when you don't have unlimited space, you'll see why in a few moments. The next rule is that you may only attack your opponent and render them incapacitated to a limited degree – for example you may restrain, but no serious compound fractures or any concussions, please – as there won't be someone present at all times to monitor the fights, you will have to use digression.

"This exercise is for, primarily, espionage and infiltration, the fights happen because they're a necessity, you may not take your opponent out completely, or render them unconscious for more than a few seconds. Am I understood?" Everyone nodded

"Good, now, for anyone caught breaking these rules – Kakashi and I will also be monitoring you at the same time – then the team will suffer a punishment, during these 'punishments' the entire team may not defend their base or scroll from attack for three minutes. If their scroll has already been captured during the punishment, then they are not allowed to retrieve it, even if they are capable of doing so or have incapacitated the enemy holding their scroll. Understood?" Everyone nodded again,

"Now, I want you all to take this seriously, but you must also use a degree of digression, treat the fights as a general spar, but your main objectives are the scrolls, the winner will be in possession of all three scrolls or have captured the enemies' scrolls the most number of times – conversely, looser will be the team who has _their_ scroll stolen the most number of times-"

"Ohayo! Sakura-chan!"The excited voice of someone very familiar appeared, his blonde hair swaying slightly, as he grinned – apparently pleased with himself – _Naruto_…he'd returned yesterday, much to the joy of many-a shinobi – most of the younger generation had gathered to meet him and the village had been in uproar.

Sakura had successfully managed to avoid most of it by taking herself to the library (after training with her team) – Naruto would _never_ venture near there and she'd then returned home for as quiet of an evening as she could manage. Kakashi appeared by her side a few moments later as she stared blankly at the blonde, uncertain how to respond to him in front of an audience,

"Sorry to make you wait, Tsunade-sama called me and he's going to be taking part today, I've already briefed him," Sakura took a deep breath, trying to hide her irritation in the gesture,

"Very well, Naruto, you'll be joining my team, since they're a man short, Raiden," She called her teammate stood at the front, alerting Naruto to where he was supposed to go; as the young man trotted off, Sakura got a grip on her anger at Naruto's appearance before she spoke again, whilst tugging out three scrolls from her pouch,

"Alright, these three scrolls – red, green and blue will be handed out to each of the three teams, she held up the red scroll and passed it Raiden,

"I'll expect you to take over captaincy in my stead," Raiden nodded, "And watch out for Naruto, he'll drive you crazy, but he should be an asset," She lowered her voice and Raiden nodded again, looking a little more uncertain. She held up the final two scrolls, allowing everyone to see which team they were passed to, green to TenTen's team and blue to Izumo's.

"Okay, are there any questions?" Akihiko raised his hand, "Yes?"

"Taichou, if Naruto-san hadn't turned up, who would have taken the fourth place on our team?"

"No one, you'd have had to suffer. Anyone else?" She politely ignored the sullen expressions which overcame her teammates' faces; "No? Okay, follow me," She took off in a blur of movement, hotly followed by Kakashi and the rest of the teams too; soon she arrived outside the new entrance to the Uchiha compound – it had been made on the far side to the old one, so that it couldn't be entered by civilians and made it clear it was an active training ground.

"This," Sakura gestured, "Is the old Uchiha compound, it's been adapted to provide a simulation training ground and where today's training will be taking place – which is why I said no long range or especially destructive offensive jutsu."

"W-wow," A few mutters arose,

"Okay, I will take the teams one by one into the compound and lead them to their bases you will wait in your bases until I give the signal to begin. Watch also, for my signal to stop the simulations…blue scroll team, follow me," She turned and disappeared into the complex. Kakashi waited patiently his eyes falling over the rest of the teams, there were a few shinobi he'd worked with before and he easily recognised Sakura's own team.

He'd forcibly resisted the large sigh he wanted to emanate when he was called to Tsunade's office and set eyes on Naruto, stood there with his large goofy grin. He was looking forward to see Naruto in action again, but he had to admit, he wasn't suited to close range, subtle fighting and Kakashi worried slightly for the durability of the old compound.

Kakashi hadn't really set eyes on Sakura since he'd recovered from his injuries, he'd felt a little self-conscious seeking her out without specific and direct cause. He hadn't necessarily meant anything by the flowers beyond a thank you, but it occurred to him that they could easily be interpreted as something more…_romantic_; he hadn't given too much thought at the time, after he'd left Sakura's, his first stop was to visit his garden.

The flowers jumped out at him and they seemed an ideal way to express his thanks.

Before he'd left on his last mission, he'd erected a special greenhouse-like construction over it to protect the plants as best he could, although most were dead and only some incredibly hardy specimens managed to survive due to his care. It surprised him, though, when it occurred to him how his gift could be interpreted that it didn't make him half as uncomfortable as it probably should have.

He didn't really like the idea of relationships – be they long term or just for a night, they were so messy and involved; even if he planned to be gone for the sun arose, bearing himself wide open – physical imperfections as well as emotional – was not an appealing option, no matter what.

What really bothered him about the potential implication of his gift, was that she _would_ interpret it as being given with romantic intent, and it would make her uncomfortable and recoil from him; _that_ was what concerned him. But now, he had a training exercise to consider and he was looking forward to it; once Sakura had shown all of the teams to their bases, she affixed a coloured kibakufuda to a kunai and hurled it into the sky, as it detonated, great tongues of flame exploded with a deep, purplish hue and the games began.

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><p>Sakura hung back around the edge of a building, waiting for her target to make his appearance, he was about seven feet away from her, running towards her – one of the ANBU she'd never worked with before. He was running towards her as Sakura directed her chakra to her finger tip of her left index but prepared to make an initial strike with her right hand. Just as he was about to round the corner as she leapt out, he had apparently been aware of her presence as he raised his tantō to execute a well-timed strike.<p>

Sakura just had time to raise her arm above her head to block the blade with her arm guard as her left hand came to strike him, but he was swift and blocked her strike; she twisted her right arm and broke free from the pressure of the blade, his arm was suddenly coiled around hers. She raised a kick to his abdomen and although she didn't get a clean hit, the charka charge she directed into it, gave her an edge and he was knocked back. He slid to a halt and Sakura was swift to pull out a kunai,

"Good, I've wanted to see how skilled the only current female team captain is,"

"Don't you know not to underestimate kuniochi?" He gave a small arrogant smirk and leapt forward; Sakura deflected the strike of his tantō with her kunai before blocking his returning punch, mimicking what she had done at their initial clash.

They remained still for a few moments, struggling against each other's respective strength, Sakura paused and readied herself to bend into the pressure he was exerting and so give her a clean shot at him. With a sharp flick of her wrist to slide her kunai out from under his tantō, she flipped it around to grip his hand and drag him forwards, his fist managed to make contact with her shoulder, but it was no were near enough to stop her.

Ignoring the stab of pain from the bruise, she twisted her now free left hand, charged with her chakra strength, she drove them into his ribs, breaking three. She'd used just enough force to give the three hair-line fractures – something which could be easily and swiftly fixed, but would cause him severe problems before such time as they were seen to by a medic.

"Ugh," He crumped to his knees and Sakura released her grip on him, her fight won to her satisfaction, leapt away from him and continued on; she sheathed her kunai and slipped into one of the houses which she knew would offer her more convoluted but well hidden means to travel towards the blue scroll holders' base.

As she slid closed the fusuma silently, she stepped forward and immediately the floor gave way beneath her, before she befell anything too nasty, she pushed off of her right foot, which was still on solid ground and landed upside down, on her hands, on the far side of the hidden pit.

She curled down, back to being the right-side-up and rested for a moment in a crouch, eyeing the trap, _Ibiki apparently wasn't kidding when he said he'd lain traps everywhere, kuso! I need to be more careful_; hearing the sharp clash of metal on the far side of the sliding door, Sakura rose to her feet and silently disappeared into the house, her target shouldn't be too far away and he was easy enough to spot.

The house contained many more traps which were set off either by her proximity or in a relay fashion, so much so, that she ended up doing a rather impressive gymnastics routine through the house. She travelled with a combination of handstands, flips the occasional pirouette to avoid any nasty injuries; resisting the urge to laugh out loud at how she much have looked, ostensibly dancing through the deserted building, she quelled the urge, not wanting to give her position away.

She waited, peering around the corner to see Kakashi fighting Izumo, which quickly ended in Kakashi's favour with the blade of his hand striking the ex-Chuunin exam proctor to the back of the base of his head, rendering him unconscious. Sakura stepped out and Kakashi turned to her, their first real words since she'd seen him earlier in the week;

"Come across any bad behaviour yet?" She queried as Kakashi fiddled with his glove slightly,

"No, not yet…you?"

"Not really, one or two a bit eager to fight rather than infiltrate but it all adds up to the same thing, I suppose," Kakashi nodded,

"Hmm, I've found that too…" Kakashi looked as though he had more to say, but Izumo suddenly groaned and both shinobi's eyes glued to him as she shifted slightly, Sakura and Kakashi shared a last glance and a nod before they both darted off in opposite directions.

Sakura decided to stick more to the roads, but well aware of the next house she could possibly dart into, she kept her senses wide open and came across a few other shinobi, but she chose to avoid them as she continued on. She followed her target until she managed to corner him, with his back to the high wall, lined with _uchiwa_ and Sakura stood between two houses, staring at him.

"It's about time for this, don't you think?" The blonde looked certain and issued a sharp nod, Sakura wanted to say something like 'don't hold back', but she knew Naruto would merely pleasantly nod or look determined, but mentally compartmentalize her comment as protocol, and then disregard it. She crouched low, not waiting for him to do the same before she rushed forward and engaged him in swift but punishing taijutsu; they were close to match for match as each respective punch or kick was blocked or dodged with ease.

She got one good hit on him on his sternum, which fractured the bone and pushed the blonde right back against the wall, gasping, before he was able to activate his nine-tails chakra which forced Sakura to leap away again as his injury almost immediately healed. He looked incredulous, presumably at the fact she used such force,

"You underestimated me," She stated simply, immediately forming hand seals, "Doton: Doryuu Taiga [Earth flowing river]!" As she spoke, a huge river of mud appeared and rushed towards Naruto, already swirling over his feet, unsteadying him; unfortunately, it wasn't enough as he was swift to leap up. He employed his signature move and created four shadow clones,

"I don't want to hurt you, Sakura,"

"Then you'd better be able to defend yourself," Sakura formed two clay clones as she leapt backwards, allowing the clones to tackle Naruto's bunshins; Sakura herself began to organise her chakra for her space-time technique as he became aware of a number of other presences around her – _they had an audience?_

As each of her clones had two Naruto's around them, she detonated them both, the nearby buildings shook from the force, but little overall damage was rendered; three of the four clones were destroyed as the fourth came speeding towards her with his fist recoiled, ready to strike.

It was obvious he'd expected her to dodge or block, so when she leapt up towards him, keeping her eyes locked with the original and glided straight through the clone, the shock on Naruto's face was pronounced and nearly comical; Sakura released her Justus as soon as she'd passed through the clone and stamped her lead foot down onto the clone's back, destroying it. She landed back to the ground, flashing through the hand seals for another Bunshin Bakuha, [exploding clone], but was swift to distract Naruto, as the clone appeared onto of the wall behind him keeping well out of sight of her opponent, his position now stood on one of the roofs,

"What's wrong? Scared?" She again leapt towards him, diverting his attention as he pulled out a kunai and they clashed blades, further kicks and punches were exchanged as Naruto was apparently a little faster on the ball this time; a heavy punch, although blocked, sent Sakura flying backwards and she flipped so as to land on the adjacent house's roof.

"Well, you seem a bit more serious," He eyed her harshly for a few moments, his condensed breath easily viable in small puffs, as was her own,

"What the hell was that jutsu you used?" Sakura shrugged,

"What did it look like?" She pulled out a kibakufuda and attached it to a kunai, as soon as she released the weapon, her hands formed the seals for the Goukakkyuu no jutsu and she aimed slightly to the left of Naruto. This, as predicted, encouraged Naruto to dodge to the right, precisely as her clone followed up with a sharp kick; however, Naruto managed to block with his arm and kick the clone away before Sakura had a chance to detonate it.

Unfortunately, Naruto was just outside the high-impact blast radius enough, so that he was shaken but uninjured; the real Sakura followed up quickly, activated her space-time jutsu and allowed Naruto's initial two attacks to pass right through her, he still wasn't using ninjutsu, but she could force him to change.

Naruto leapt backwards and landed upon the roof tiles, sliding backwards on the light snow covering, but as he came to a halt, he felt the distinct twang of wire and he only just managed to lunge out of the way as a volley of three kunai came sailing out of nowhere. Sakura, too, was well out of the line of fire but she allowed them to continue on, just as she was gearing up for her next strike, a piercing yell resounded from behind her.

Spinning around, she saw that, apart from about three quarters of the ANBU participants had stopped to watch her and Naruto's fight, behind where most of them were perched, another ANBU was crouched, holding a bloody sparring partner.

She leapt away in the blink of an eye and appeared next to the injured shinobi, who turned out to be Izumo, he was clutching at his neck; Sakura gently pried his hands away to see a nasty gash, as though someone had attempted to slit his throat. Quickly placing a palm over his neck, she discovered the wound to be relatively superficial, but had come very close to severing his carotid artery – thankfully, however, his life was in no immediate danger. She was grateful that she still had enough chakra to heal him and was directing it to her palm when Naruto spoke up, from right behind her,

"Oh no! He must have been hit by those kunai!" Sakura was desperate to turn to him and deadpan, _'__do those uncanny powers of deduction come with tights and a cape?'_ But she was in no mood to even speak to, let alone argue with Naruto and so held her tongue; Kakashi appeared in the next moment,

"Will he be alright?"

"Yes, it's not a serious injury," She could almost sense Kakashi's nod and internal sigh of relief,

"Okay, well I think we should call it here for today, don't you?"

"Yes…I suppose that would be a good idea, gather everyone to the gate, will you?" Kakashi grunted his agreement and disappeared down to deal with the rest of the squads just as Sakura healed Izumo,

"You haven't had much luck today, have you?" She offered with a small smile – her almost built-in bedside manner was always instantaneously rearing its head, Izumo returned the smile with his own grateful one as he sat up, gently rubbing his, now, unmarred neck, "It was a close call, another centimeter and it would have severed your carotid,"

"Damn…" She helped him to his feet,

"C'mon, the training session is over, let's head back out to the gate," The three shinobi behind her followed her, snapping at her heels and all too quickly, they were gathered around; Sakura stood by Kakashi's side as he addressed the group, ascertaining who'd won and lost. Sakura's team had been in a compete tie (due to number of times they'd obtained another scroll only to have it stolen again) with TenTen's team and Izumo's apparently hadn't faired too badly, either, but not enough to keep up with the competition.

"Alright, you're dismissed…Naruto, you'll need to come with me to report in to the Godaime…Sakura, you don't have to come," She nodded, grateful that she could now avoid Naruto, the other ANBU sped off but Izumo, TenTen and Sakura's team remained behind, taking a more leisurely stroll back, as did Kakashi and Naruto,

"Ahh, Taichou you're so cruel making us train so hard yesterday and then going through this today!" Akihiko wasted no time in complaining, but with the playful I'm-not-_really _-complaining edge Sakura knew so well,

"I seem to recall yesterday, Akihiko, that you said the training _wasn't enough_,"

"Yea, well it wasn't, it's the combination of that and today which has got me,"

"Shouldn't have opened your big mouth, idiot," Taiki cut across, although he too feeling the strain was smart enough to keep quiet,

"Hey! Shut up!"

"The universe loves to make you its fool, Akihiko, it'll find a way to make you eat your words," Sakura muttered as Izumo pulled up beside her,

"Hey! Profound things should be said over sake, you know that captain!" Taiki exclaimed happily,

"True…warm sake would be very welcome now, to chase away the cold and _better_ if one doesn't have to pay for it, herself," Her eyes glinted and Taiki looked a little sullen,

"Mou, Sakura-Taichou, but you've pushed us so hard, you should be paying!"

"Who paid last time, Taiki?" He was overcome with a look of disgust as the others, not privy to what was going on, all became quite interested,

"But I had to…_ugh!_ He was so disgusting!" He shuddered at the memory of how he had to 'seduce' Yuuh on that dreadful mission,

"Hey, don't feel so bad Taiki, you showed good you are with your hands," She couldn't resist grinning as the poor man nearly retched; an involuntary shudder when through the remaining male company as they put two and two together to realize what she and her subordinate had been talking about.

"Hey, I can buy you a drink Sakura, it's the least I can do, since you saved my life," Izumo then cut across, with a small smile on his face; Kakashi frowned slightly, unsure why Izumo's offer unsettled him slightly,

"C'mon, Kakashi, let's go and see Baa-chan," Kakashi nodded, shooting one last glace at the smile Izumo was offering Sakura (who's expression he couldn't read, being a few paces behind and she was looking forward) and conceded that he couldn't do anything (what was he supposed to do, anyway?) And he shot off behind Naruto, steadying his disconcerted insides.


	17. Chapter 17

I'm aware that the actual way in which I show the events here might irritate you slightly – as it sort of occurs through hear-say, but I thought it might actually work better this way, considering how much motivation it gave Sakura and Kakashi through indirect means I thought I keep the theme… Besides this _is_ a **_Kaka_/_Saku_** fic rather than a Naru/Saku...

I will also ask you to bear in mind that I have chosen to do things this way around for a _reason_, if you don't like it: fair enough and I apologise if it interferes too much with your enjoyment of the story, but as I've said, I've done this for a reason so please bear with it.

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 17: From Dot To Dot To Dot_

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><p>"Um, Sakura-sampai?" The quiet, but sure voice of TenTen pulled Sakura from her revere,<p>

"Hmm?" The other kuniochi fell into step beside her, her subordinates were a little further ahead, with Izumo by their side, occasionally sending glances back, but appearing to listen in to Raiden and Akihiko's 'discussion'.

"Well, I want to ask you something, but I'm not sure whether it's...uh…appropriate or not," A sudden stream of very random (and mildly disturbing) scenarios ran through Sakura's mind, she decided to remain vague,

"Oh?"

"Uh, your subordinate…Taiki-san, was his name?" _Oh?_

"Taiki? What about him?" She gestured to the back of said shinobi, wandering in front of them, TenTen looked a little distracted and embarrassed,

"To be honest, I like him…would you have a problem if I asked him out?" She spoke in a low voice, but it was no less assured, TenTen, apparently, was the very definition of straight-forward; Sakura couldn't completely hide her surprise,

"Try not to distract him too much, TenTen, I'll still need his full concentration during training," The other kuniochi grinned,

"Thanks, Sakura," She spoke a little louder and the four men in front of them turned back querying what the sudden gratitude was about, Izumo slowed his pace to fall back into line with Sakura as TenTen stepped forward to catch up with Akihiko, Raiden and Taiki.

Sakura, sensing that Izumo was a little _too_ eager to buy her a drink in gratitude, was beginning to reconsider her desire to go to the bar or wherever they were deciding; she didn't much feel like trying to join in with the sizable group and probably be subjected to Izumo's less than subtle attempts at, well…

They were half way through Konoha by now and Sakura definitely wasn't comfortable, she'd felt awkward since they'd walked away from the training grounds – although she couldn't exactly pinpoint why.

She wasn't much in the mood for company and although she wanted warm sake, it wouldn't be too difficult to heat it at her apartment; it was bizarre how suddenly at ease she'd felt once they'd ceased training, despite her irritation at Naruto and was relaxed in talking with her team.

But now, she was feeling rather unsettled and _open_ somehow, the air was still bitter and the snow was beginning to fall more thickly, in large wet clumps;

"Right, I think I'm going to adjourn home,"

"What! No way!" Akihiko automatically complained, accompanied by matching dismay from Taiki, Raiden merely rolled his eyes, understanding his captain's desire for privacy; he wasn't comfortable in large groups either,

"Why not, Sakura? I was looking forward to having a drink with you," Izumo again, spoke very politely and honestly, but it was still a touch unsettling, she really wasn't used to receiving male attention in this fashion,

"Sorry guys, I'm freezing and I've no doubt got a report to write for this training session," Taiki pouted,

"When we get back from the next mission, you are _definitely_ coming for a drink and you are _definitely_ paying!" Sakura rolled her eyes,

"Whatever, see you later, guys," She turned on her heel and began to walk away, not wasting any time before leaping up to the roof tops and sprinted away, soon disappearing into the fog of snow.

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><p>Kakashi was stood with his weight on one leg beside Naruto, who was chattering away happily at what he thought of the compound and the ANBU (even though Tsunade had asked merely what he thought of the <em>exercise<em>); said silver-haired Jounin felt quite irritated at the blonde's penchant for consuming as much time as possible and for being made to leave Sakura, with Naruto.

No matter what the shinobi wanted himself, it seemed that the universe had other ideas; he didn't particularly like the idea of going drinking with the others (or Izumo's offer), but he would have preferred to have left by his own volition rather than _having_ to do so and with Naruto – which was guaranteed to give Sakura cause to pull back from him (or think he was going to, with her).

Kakashi also knew that Sakura and Naruto couldn't avoid each other forever and that sooner or later they'd have to set aside their differences but he definitely couldn't be the one to …_encourage_ them without dire consequences.

"Is that so? And you, Kakashi, what did you make of their fight?" He was pulled back from his inner ranting,

"Hmm? Well, Naruto didn't really _fight_, apparently worried about injuring Sakura, who appeared to have fun playing games with him," Tsunade raised an eyebrow,

"Sakura isn't a little girl, Naruto, she's one of the strongest ANBU we have," Said young shinobi averted his eyes to the front of Tsunade's desk, "Besides, what good is a spar if you're too scared of hurting them that you don't test their skills?"

Naruto didn't look too happy,

"But how can I wilfully hurt her?" He protested and Kakashi could barely contain his snort of disapproval,

"What makes you think you'd be _able_ to hurt her? She's arguably one of the strongest shinobi in the village, if not in the Five Great Nations due to her current abilities," Naruto shot him a look which told of complete disbelief,

"Hmm, well I'm not going to go all out against her, that's not right,"

"Naruto, I need your skills thoroughly tested, I need to know what you're capable of...and I need to know that I could pair you with Sakura for team related missions and whatever the personal feeling are between you two, I know that I can trust her to be a consummate professional…" Naruto apparently caught her drift,

"You can trust me!"

"You've yet to prove it to me," Tsunade leaned back slightly in her chair, resting a cheek on her fist, "You and Sakura need to resolve your differences – and you need to start trusting her, isn't that the basis for teamwork? Wasn't that the first lesson Kakashi taught you?" Naruto averted his eyes once again as Tsunade sighed gently, "Look, I'm not asking you to become her best friend overnight, but I need the both of you to be able to work together and be able trust one another…you both…all three of you," She looked, briefly, at Kakashi, "Have a lot of history – most of which won't be easy to come to terms with, but I need to know I can trust you all – which I currently doubt,"

Naruto eventually nodded, understanding her words, before lifting his hands to stuff into his pockets,

"I know, Baa-chan, I'll go talk to her," Tsunade nodded,

"You're dismissed… Kakashi," She waited until the blonde had left,

"Keep an eye on him, will you? I don't think he'll hurt her, in fact rather the opposite…"

"I know," Kakashi sighed, "Things aren't easy between them, Sakura resents feeling underestimated and Naruto is still living in the past – he can't really see Sakura as anything more than the genin he worked with…"

"Just keep a subtle eye on them…don't tell Naruto this, but his Jounin exam will depend on his ability to reconcile and work with Sakura… The exams are a little more personal these days and especially for Naruto's absence, if he keeps looking without seeing then he'll be no more than a liability..." Kakashi nodded, "I'm getting worried about some of our enemy syndicates and countries – the combined abilities of Naruto and Sakura would be invaluable and even just their presence would be enough to scare some of the weaker ones… Kakashi, if you can, get to the heart of why he's really so scared of sparing with Sakura,"

"Hai,"

"Dismissed," He turned on his heel and walked away, his intuition telling him that a rather nasty argument was soon to ensue…or at the very least, another disastrous fall out.

He wondered, briefly, how different would he be feeling now had Sakura not re-entered his life; would he automatically be on Naruto's side, thinking she the unreasonable one, without even really understanding the problem? Probably.

…

Naruto stared at his feet at the snow crunched lightly beneath them, he'd been wandering rather aimlessly for the past half an hour, he was happy to be back in Konoha, but he was forced to admit, he wasn't half as happy as he should be.

He wasn't even sure how to broach the topic with Sakura – _didn't they understand that he couldn't bring himself to hurt her? _She was like a sister to him – now – they'd had their disagreements in the past and arguments and fights, but he _had_ missed Sakura-chan.

She brought back memories, too, whenever he saw her and Kakashi – even though she'd changed so much, that he couldn't help but think about Sasuke…did she blame him for killing the man she loved?

Looking up, he found himself outside Ichiraku's and he couldn't help but involuntarily smile at the familiar sight and the warming comfort it naturally brought with it,

"I was wondering how long it would take you to end up here," Naruto's mouth fell open slightly, as he looked behind him to see a familiar, if slightly aged, face greet him,

"I-Iruka-sensei…" Said scarred shinobi grinned heartily,

"Aren't you a bit old to be calling me that?" Naruto's smile widened slightly as Iruka stepped forward and lifted one of the flaps from Ichiraku's, "Hungry?"

"You bet," Naruto bounded forward and ducted under the small curtains, grinning at Teuchi,

"Oh ho! Naruto! It's about time you returned! I almost began to miss you! Eheh,"

"I really missed you too, old man! There were days where I would have killed for some of your ramen!" He grinned claiming a stool as did Iruka next to him,

"Well then, you can have a bowl on the house…you too, Iruka-san,"

"Whoa, really?" Teuchi nodded, his typical kindly smile on his face, "Then I'll have a large miso with extra pork!"

"Same please," Iruka spoke as the owner nodded and turned to begin cooking the noodles and soup base,

"Naruto, you looked a little down as I saw you walking here, is something wrong?" Naruto met Iruka's gaze as quickly as he averted his own,

"Iruka-sen…Iruka, have you spoken with Sakura-chan recently?" The still-academy teacher looked at the blonde in surprise,

"Hmm…I can't say that I have, but she's in ANBU now and a captain no-less, so I barely so much as catch glimpses of her being around," Naruto nodded, still not really meeting the brunette's gaze,

"I heard that she's quite strong…" Iruka chuckled slightly,

"Well, she'd have to be! You think they let weaklings into ANBU? But I wouldn't know, I haven't sparred with her – the best to ask would be either Kakashi-san or Gai-san – she's been training with both of them a lot recently,"

"Wha? Gejimayu-sensei? She's been training with him? Why?"

"She needed to improve her taijutsu to enter ANBU,"

"Why didn't she ask Kakashi-sensei? His taijutsu is just as good as bushy-brows!" Iruka smiled again,

"Hmm…well, Kakashi returned to ANBU soon after you left and it seems the two of them had pretty much no contact until a few months ago,"

"Huh? Why's that?"

"I'm not completely sure why, but they started training again for one reason or another and she and Kakashi are quite close now,"

"So…Before that, Kakashi hadn't spoken to Sakura for over three years?"

"Something like that, yea…" Teuchi turned back and offered two large bowls of ramen, Naruto reached for his chopsticks slowly, prying them apart as he muttered _Itadikimasu_, he swirled the ramen around gently before raising a bite to his lips, one thought lingering in his mind, _Kakashi deserted Sakura-chan, too?_

"When did Sakura join ANBU?"

"Not sure exactly, but more than a year after you left," Naruto grunts his response and before tucking in to his meal, his hunger disappointingly less than in the previous few minutes. "But how've been anyway, Naruto? Have you become stronger than when you left? Did you run into any trouble?"

"You bet!" Naruto grinned, momentarily forgetting his new found knowledge, "There were loads of guys who used to seek me out to fight to prove themselves! Most were from Rock or Lightening and some were really strong! There was only one guy who had a form of senjutsu to rival my own and it was eventually, only the nine-tails which meant I won!" Naruto took a large bite of noodles before continuing his tale to an intently listening Teuchi and Iruka.

Later, as Naruto wandered off, the snow now falling as a light dusting and the early evening beginning to fall, he made up his mind, involuntarily clenching his fist as he did so, he _had _to speak to Sakura; there simply wasn't another way around it. He wouldn't and couldn't willingly bring himself to fight her all out, but maybe he could make her see _why_ he refused to do so.

Maybe her desire to fight him was borne purely of how bad she must have felt when he left? Worse still after Kakashi's departure, probably… Yea, all he really needed was to talk it out, she's see that she didn't need to feel bad anymore and they could hug and make up without the need for fighting. Smiling to himself, he leapt up onto one of the buildings and sat down, disregarding the now fairly deep snow, to gather his sage energy, enabling him to detect her chakra.

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><p>Sakura closed the door to her apartment uncharacteristically quietly for the irritated mood she was in; Naruto had eventually cornered her and they'd discussed <em>a lot<em>; they'd made progress but Naruto was still unable to truly accept what had been bothering her.

In many respects, he still saw her as a little girl who needed protecting (_goddamnit_) and that she was just 'angry' at feeling deserted by himself and Kakashi (yes, that stung, but did he really think her so shallow?) but, she was forced to concede, would probably remained his view point until he was forced to change it by seeing her fight a real enemy.

(It was frustrating as well, that Naruto still attributed so much of her character to Sasuke and his behaviour – _couldn't he see that she'd moved on?_ Apparently not, it was disheartening to feel that no matter how far she'd come, she could be reverted right back to the little girl she'd been.)

Even so, he'd doubtlessly still leap in and get in her way before she could prove anything…but…at least she wouldn't have to put up with him on missions and that, frankly, was the best she could ask for. She was sure they'd eventually resolve things, in time, but just _how_ long, would be a significant factor in the state of their relationship at the end of it.

They hadn't sparred, much to Sakura's disappointment, but considering how adamantly Naruto had expressed his resentment of Tsunade suggesting he fight her full on, it would have been a boring match.

Sighing heavily as she kicked off her boots and stepped further into her living room, shedding her pouches and hiatai-ate as she did so putting them to rest on her tiny kitchen table; she flicked on the little heater in the corner of the room, by the door, before her hands found her shins to begin unbinding them. She had just begun to unwind her second shin as a knock at the door attracted her attention, huffing slightly in irritation, she rose to her feet with her bandages still in one hand,

"Yes?" She opened to door to spy a familiar grey-haired man,

"Konbanwa [good evening], Sakura, are you hungry?" He grinned holding up a small bag, in his right hand, she raised a slightly suspicious eyebrow,

"Why are you here?" She hadn't quite meant her question to sound so rude, but he seemed as nonplussed as ever,

"Aah, I thought you'd be hungry and I wanted to ask you a few things about the training exercise…sorry, am I interrupting?" He eyed the bandages in her hand, and general lack of shinobi accessories,

"N-no, I suppose not…come in, then," She stepped back and he wandered in thankfully toeing off his sandals as she shut the door with a mild shiver; he set the bag down on her small kotatsu she'd yet to set heating,

"I was just about to take a shower, I'll be back in a few minutes…would you mind making some tea?" He shook his head as Sakura wandered off around the corner towards her bathroom; it took Kakashi a good few minutes of rummaging in cupboards before he located a tea pot, two cups and some tea; he set the kettle to boil before he allowed his eyes to drift over the work surface, coming to an abrupt halt over the top of the fridge.

Upon which was the bouquet of flowers, he himself had left for her barely a week ago, resting in an old sake bottle.

They were beginning to fade, which was to be expected after the length of time it had been since they were cut, but not faring too badly; he heard the sound of the shower running as he outstretched his hand to pick up the sake bottle, curious as to why they'd be there in the first place.

Lifting them gently he confirmed his guess that it had been filled with water so as to act as a vase; he could resist the grin on his face as he realised that his gift had been accepted and, hopefully, appreciated.

He returned the vase to precisely where he'd picked it up from, feel warmed, as well for the fact that she'd taken the time to care for them and display them. The kettle clicked signalling it had boiled and his poured the water into the teapot before lifting the tray over to her kotatsu, which he also switched on before returning to collect the two bento boxes he'd brought.

As he sat on her futon-cum-sofa, he could help but allow his eye to drift back over to the small bouquet; Kakashi silently decided that flowers very much looked a natural part of Sakura's home, and that he himself, felt surprisingly comfortable in it.

Just as he poured out a cupful of tea Sakura appeared at the door way, still scrubbing at her hair with a towel, dressed in a pair of light shinobi trousers and bandages as well as an informal jinbei top, similar to the Godaime's and although slightly more conservative on her smaller figure, it was nonetheless flattering.

She pulled the towel away to leave an unruly pink afro of hair, which, apart from bringing a slight chuckle to Kakashi's lips and a roll of Sakura's eyes as she stepped closer to take a seat on the floor beside him, tucking her legs under to kotatsu; made her look very endearing.

She ran a hand through her hair taming the worst of the bird's nest before bring a comb up to complete the job, returning her still damp hair to its more natural, mostly-straight look.

He handed her the cup of tea before pouring a second and pushing one of the boxes closer to her, but her gaze found his as she lowered the comb and momentarily ignoring the rest of the items on the table.

"I know that you're here more to find out what happened with Naruto, aren't you?" Kakashi, although feeling slightly worried, nodded, "Well, I think…that I'm going to spite you for your _bad_ attempt at a false pretense, and we'll finish the discussion the training exercise first, leaving no stone unturned!"

She grinned laughing slightly at his exasperated and deeply unimpressed expression, although he was slightly relieved that things seemed to be pretty normal between them, he really didn't like being made to wait for information he was searching for.


	18. Chapter 18

Apologies if the last chapter seemed like filler and if this chapter seems a little like that too, but there were/are things which need elaborating upon and are important!

Also: I'm aware that this is a short chapter, but to say all I wanted to would have made it unmanageably huge, so I've chopped it up a little, and decided to spread the info out. If you want, you can take this chapter and the next [part 19] as two halves of one large chapter, but it isn't necessary! Thanks!

Also huge thanks to everyone who's taken the time to review, it really makes me happy to know that you guys are enjoying the story! I wish I was able to respond to anonymous reviews, but unfortunately it's not possible, so I'll say thanks here!

*Very happy*

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 18:_ _The Flamboyant Green Beast_

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><p>Sakura stretched her arms over her head as she left the administration building, it was closing on lunch time and Sakura was hungry after a stressful morning; she'd handed in her report for her last mission (which was too long, but it was time and energy-consuming) and Tsunade advised, and gave a general brief, to the younger kuniochi, that she would soon be sent on a mission with Naruto.<p>

This, she was not looking forward to.

Sakura would be called for a full brief in a day or two's time, but Tsunade had pre-warned her to give Sakura the opportunity to resolve any major, outstanding issues with her soon-to-be (again) teammate. There weren't any, not really, but things were still a little awkward between herself and her long-ago teammate – and they didn't really socialize together, so tended to keep out of each other's way, but apparently, this was good enough for Tsunade to think they could trust each other.

Sakura wasn't terribly convinced, and still had serious doubts, but also knew that the Godaime had already put off sending them on the mission for some weeks and it really couldn't wait much longer.

"Are you leaving too?" A voice from behind her caused her to whirr around, to see a politely smiling Izumo,

"Hmm? Yea, actually, why?" He caught up to her,

"I was just on my way to lunch, would you care to join me?" She hesitated for a few moments and the fellow ANBU saw fit to sweeten the deal, "Please? My treat as I missed the opportunity to speak with you before…do you feel like Yakiniku Q?" Sakura relented,

"Sure…but you don't have to pay for me," The wandered off, Izumo was about the same height as her and only a slightly larger build, "When did you become a part of ANBU, Izumo-san?"

"Just Izumo, but a few years ago, after the formation of the Twenty Platoons, just before the Bijuu wars, when we lost Asuma-Taichou, I realized how desperate I was to improve, seeing the calibre of enemies… After the war, when everything settled down, I pushed myself hard and joined… Kotetsu was going to join as well but he decided against it in the end, I think he thought he could do better from a less in-the-field role," Sakura nodded with interest,

"I see,"

"I must admit, I was surprised how good you were, Sakura, was that a space-time jutsu you pulled on Naruto?" He looked over to see her green eyes widened, holding her surprise,

"Yea, how'd you know that?" He grinned,

"I've seen my share of jutsu used during my years…but I've never come across one so developed – how do you do it?"

"Heh," She smiled back, "Now that would be telling!" They arrived at the restaurant and sat at an empty booth, most of which were empty; Sakura ordered the beef set meal and Izumo the pork one, Sakura felt little need or desire to speak much and so allowed the silence to stretch.

"Hey, how come Naruto didn't you fight back during that training exercise?" _Of all the questions you could have asked…_

"I don't know," Sakura shook her head as their orders arrived and she busied herself with loading up the small griddle with beef, her stomach now grumbling that the food still wasn't cooked and ready for consumption. Izumo seemed to catch her drift and changed the subject,

"You seem pretty close to your team, how long have you been their captain?" She looked up, taking a swig of tea,

"Over two years now,"

"Aah, they say that it takes at least six months to truly become accustomed to your team and its dynamic… They seem to trust you a lot," She smiled lightly – out of politeness rather than anything else,

"Well, we have been through a lot together…even if I can be a bit harsh with them every now and then," Izumo laughed slightly, whilst flipping over the stops of meat, mimicking Sakura,

"Ahaha, well, you've got to keep them in line one way or another, right?"

"I suppose that is true…besides, they're pretty unruly as far as it goes anyway, so a heavy hand is needed occasionally…" Sakura plucked a small strip of beef of the griddle and dipped it in the small cup of sauce before devouring it with a tiny hum of satisfaction and reaching for another slice. Izumo was about to open his mouth to speak when a blaring cry of-

"Aah!" Interrupted them, Sakura just about had time to swallow her bite before she choked on it, "Aah! Sakura! It is indeed terrible news!"

Gai.

"Sakura! I have searched high and low for your beautiful self and extensive wisdom, I need your help!" The few other patrons to the restaurant were staring at him strangely as Gai pulled one of his poses screaming 'distress', before burying his face in his hands,

"What do you mean? What's happening?" She seemed fairly nonplussed as she took another bite of grilled beef and pulling what was cooked from the griddle, before replacing her chopsticks down on the stand and turning in her seat to face the spandex clad man,

"My poor TenTen! Her youth is being assailed!"

"Eh? What do you mean, Gai?" Sakura sat up a little, feeling mildly concerned that something was _actually_ seriously wrong,

"My lovely, pure long-ago student TenTen has again been the subject of attention from the youth crushing Genma!" Sakura's eyebrows, previously raised in curiosity, immediately flopped into a frown,

"Ah,"

"Ah indeed! I have told Genma time and again that TenTen does not appreciate his advances, but he continues to ignore me!"

"Has TenTen said anything about this I thought she was going after-" Sakura cut herself short as both men stared at her with palpable inquisitiveness, "Never mind, what has Genma been trying?" She could guess, but wanted to hear it anyway,

"He continually askes TenTen of her…her…" This looked painful, "Her…se-…_status_," Izumo merely raised one unimpressed eyebrow,

"And? What's the big deal? Genma's like that with every girl,"

"True! But he is not usually so crass! I know that Genma means no harm but I am fearful for TenTen's sensitive heart!" Gai then flopped on the edge of the table, crying into his crossed arms,

"Gai, I'm certain TenTen can handle herself, it's true its always awkward when Genma seemed especially…_focused_, but if TenTen really wanted him to leave her alone he _would_ do so – she can just tell him that she's already involved with someone and then punch him for good measure," Sakura shrugged as Gai suddenly looked up,

"Eh? TenTen is involved with someone?"

"Yea, my teammate Taiki," Gai beamed.

"Ahh! This is wonderful news! TenTen must indeed be spirited…were it not for Genma!" His arms previously raised in triumph fell limpy in front of him,

"Has TenTen _said_ anything to _you_ about this? Or did you overhear it?"

"Both, I overheard, then spoke to TenTen later – she was sat with Neji, who honourably defended her from Genma, but his efforts were not enough – though, she expressed anger and irritation with Genma,"

"Well, that's not too bad – if TenTen isn't really _upset_, then it's okay, right? She's very assertive – I'm sure she was just venting her anger at him, to you, Gai, she's probably already sorted it out," Sakura shrugged, her attention so completely focused on her (perhaps a touch _un_necessarily) upset friend, that she missed Izumo's irritated sigh and slight thump as his elbow came to rest upon the table and his chin slapped into his palm, stared bored-ly at the duo, having already eaten his lunch.

He sighed lightly at how quickly her attention was stolen from him and by _Gai_ no less, what was the world coming to?

Sakura took another few strips of beef and devoured them, whilst listening to Gai who was retelling the events of when he last overheard Genma speaking to his student, until he inexplicably turned to Izumo,

"And so! As a fellow man, what do you think? How can I persuade Genma to stop chasing my dear TenTen?" Said bandana'd shinobi suddenly looked up and between Gai and Sakura, who was taking a sip of tea, but with her attention on him, nonetheless,

"W-well, I think you're over-reacting, Gai, TenTen's already proven she can look after herself and frankly, Genma loves a challenge, I'll bet that because she doesn't respond the way he wants, that it drives him to keep on trying, but by next week, he will have moved on to another, more receptive woman," He shrugged in a slightly apathetic manner (as Sakura internally cringed at his choice of words) but she nonetheless nodded in agreement,

"Izumo's right, it'll blow over soon enough," Sakura took another bite of meat her eyes meeting with Izumo's, he held the gaze for few moments – Sakura found his expression to be unreadable, but was definitely warm and friendly, somehow.

"Yes…perhaps you are right…although I feel much better for having spoken to you, Sakura, thank you for listening to me…I…err…I'm sorry if I interrupted you," He looked around, as though suddenly realizing where he was,

"Ehehe, it's alright, I've always got time, Gai," He beamed, offering an exuberant 'thumbs up', before turning to Izumo,

"Apologies to you, as well, and thank you for your advice! Now! I must to and find my eternal rival for the match I promised him earlier!"

"Why do that? Why didn't you just challenge him there and then?" Sakura took a final sip of tea and sat back, relaxing in her seat, she could feel Izumo's eyes on her but she didn't meet his gaze,

"Hmm? Because I was so irritated with Genma I needed to see you first and Kakashi said that he saw you come in here," Sakura nodded, wondering slightly,

"Well, goo-"

"Sakura! Tsunade-sama needs to see you immediately," Shizune seemingly appeared out of nowhere and interrupted – the second, more exasperated sigh of Izumo's going unheard – as Sakura rose to her feet, reaching into her pouch for a few notes and throwing them down on the table,

"Okay… I'm sorry Izumo, but I did enjoy the lunch – I'm sure I'll see you soon,"

"Right, thanks, Sakura," He returned, but she was already out of sight, leaving the young-ish shinobi with Gai,

"Well, I suppose I'll be off too, thanks Izumo-kun and sorry again!" Izumo sighed heavily and slowly rose to his feet; apparently the attentions of the pink-haired kuniochi can be difficult to obtain.

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><p>"Apologies, Sakura, I know I said that this meeting would take place a little later, but I just received word that the situation has worsened and I need you to leave immediately. The circumstances in Mist have suddenly taken a turn for the worse and Konoha cannot afford to allow the recent actions to be bypassed,"<p>

Just as Tsunade finished speaking, there was a knock at the door and four men entered; Naruto being one and the other three, Sakura recognised as being Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi and Morino Ibiki,

"Aah, there you are…come in; have you finished the technique on Naruto, Inoichi?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama,"

"Excellent, Sakura, you and Naruto will be accompanied on this mission by Shikaku and Inoichi… Inoichi and Ibiki will perform a forbidden technique on you to make sure that no one will be able to forcibly extract any information out of you, should you be captured or come into contact with any interrogation nin," Ibiki stepped forward, received a nod from Tsunade and so continued the explanation, Sakura turned to face him, by now fairly used to his stead-fast manner,

"Sakura-san, during this mission – which will be primarily an information gathering mission – it is highly likely you will be encountered and confronted with Kirigakure nin, who are ruthless, even for shinobi, and will use any excuse to capture and interrogate. However, Inoichi and I will tell you all of the vital information then teach you how to mask it, so that it will appear, even if someone invades your mind, that you don't know a thing.

"You, using a code-word, will then be able to lift the 'mask' on those thoughts and memories to access the information and 'store' new information and again mask it in the same way." Ibiki's eyes then averted to Tsunade, who nodded,

"Sakura, you and the team will leave the day after tomorrow – unfortunately it's all the time we can afford, so study hard – you will need to be able to perform the technique to mask your thoughts and memories potentially, under intense pressure.

"Shikaku will be team leader for this mission, you will meet him at the main gates at six the morning after next; Sakura you will need to be undercover for this mission – so dye your hair and dress as a civilian – and I need the ANBU operative first, the medic comes second, got it?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," _Medic second? This mission must be a lot worse than she's willing to let on,_

"Go, now, with Ibiki and Inoichi, they'll teach you what you need to know, dismissed; Shikaku and Naruto, wait a moment please," The three nodded and left quickly, leaving the elder Nara and the Kyuubi behind.

Sakura walked steadily down the halls and out of the administration building with the elder generation shinobi, both of whom Sakura had come to know fairly well due to her time in ANBU.

They still commanded a great deal of respect, and even if Sakura had her questions as to whether Shikaku or Inoichi were a little…_seasoned_ for such a mission, they were among the most skilled and intelligent men in the village – if Tsunade thought it necessary to send the among to top intelligence analysts and strategists, then the situation was probably 'dire' as an understatement.

"Sakura," Inoichi's deep, but fairly calming voice sounded from her left, attracting her attention, "Considering that you are an ANBU captain and spent many years as a medic both in the hospital and in the field – not to mention your apprenticeship with Tsunade – you will have considerably valuable information which the enemy –should they discovered your identity – would do _a lot_ to get their hands on, so you will have a very great deal to mask. Frankly speaking, I will even need to create some fake memories for you, to cover up the obvious gaps…"

"I understand," Sakura nodded firmly, then lowered her tone as they leapt up the side of the Hokage Mountain to the ANBU headquarters, "Inoichi-san, Naruto and I aren't really going _just_ for the sake of intelligence gathering, are we?" He apparently shared a glance with Ibiki,

"We'll discuss it in due time, Sakura, we'll tell you everything you need to know,"


	19. Chapter 19

Ok! I hope you don't think Kakashi too out of character for this chapter, but to be honest, whenever you do become friends with somone, they naturally influence you, and your behavior _does_ modify slightly - regardless of any number of factors - but even so, I hope this chapter is to your liking!

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 19: I Must Have Dreamed A Thousand Dreams_

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><p>Sakura wandered somewhat aimlessly, it was late-morning the day after her training with Ibiki and Inoichi – to say that their training had been intense, would have made a mockery of language; but fortunately, they were extremely thorough and good teachers.<p>

Sakura had spent the rest of the afternoon and evening practicing the masking technique, made easier by the fact that Inoichi was able to tell her precisely what and how to mask.

He'd used his mind-invasion technique on her to make sure that she was using it correctly, and Sakura had to admit – it was a far nastier jutsu than she'd envisioned. Still, it was, by far, easier to cope with knowing who Inoichi was and for the fact it was for educational purposes, rather than to truly pillage her mind for information.

Still, it was wretched experience and she desperately hoped that she would never have to experience it forcibly, even _though_ she'd now had training against it.

She'd practiced again during the morning, and was feeling quite confident in her ability to mask – through concentration alone – sections of her memories. Thankfully, the technique was one which required concentration alone – no hand seals and no chakra – and once a section of memories was 'blocked off' as it were, it would remain so, until Sakura thought about the code word and 'unlocked' the memories through a complex pathway of memory association.

This association, which was unbeknownst to Sakura, as they'd all decided, in the end, it was safest that she didn't know. Ibiki and Inoichi had constructed, in her mind, this pathway which Ibiki could then, at a later date, take Sakura through (without necessarily having to enter her mind, but rather through word-prompts) to remove the 'mask'.

Secretly, Ibiki, had decided on (and created the pathway for) Saikan Chuushutsu no jutsu [fine affliction(poison) extraction] – a technique Sakura had used regularly and had very clear memories of, which wouldn't need to be hidden and was fairly benign – so Ibiki could speak the words, then lead her through a path of association which would unlock her memory core of all she'd learned (which she'd hide) in Mist [1]. As well as the classified information she already knew as a leaf shinobi, ANBU member and medic.

She was supposed to infiltrate, with Naruto, as civilian siblings – as Shikaku and Inoichi infiltrate as quietly as possible to gain whatever classified information they were able – so Sakura and Naruto could keep an eye on the more open political proceedings of Mist.

Tsunade had been worried, primarily, that Mist seemed to have been gathering armaments and training shinobi in a highly specific way – hence she wanted to send the team to figure out exactly what was most likely to happen both realistically and in the worst-case-scenario.

It was estimated to be a three to five month mission, it would, after all take time to infiltrate and be able to move well enough to draw no attention.

Mist itself – although often shaky in its previous alliances – had been generally cooperative through the Bijuu wars and the joint shinobi army and, as with the other of the Five Great Nations, all had remained somewhat tentative allies for well after the war.

No, Tsunade suspected that something of a separatist group had formed deep within Kirigakure and that they had access to – and were pulling – far more strings than they should be allowed to, hence they couldn't risk another out-right war, or an air of suspicion and paranoia to cloud, otherwise intelligent, minds of the shinobi nations through Kiri's suspicious actions.

Sakura, having practiced like crazy, felt the need to escape for a little while and take a walk – although the weather was still a little bitter, it wasn't snowing anymore. Even so, she'd still felt the need to tug a cloak around her shoulders as she ambled down the street, wandering somewhat aimlessly – hoping only to clear her mind so that she could practice again later and then activate the jutsu fully before she left on the mission.

"Sakura seems uncharacteristically glum," A familiar voice attracted her attention as she looked over to the silver-haired man who seemed to have fallen into step next to her within the past nano-second, his head buried in his book; she herself ignoring his use of third person,

"Hmm,"

"Is something bothering you?"

"Nothing that I can talk about,"

"Aah, big mission coming up then, I take it?"

"Yea," He inexplicably snapped his book shut,

"So, then this is a final walk to clear your head?"

"…Yes… Why?"

"Sou [I see]… Come with me for a while, I want your help," She turned to meet his eye which held a fairly passive expression – it was neither threatening nor too guarded; he offered a small smile and a jerk of this thumb in the right direction, before he took a step away. Sakura, almost instinctively, fell into line,

"What do you want my help with?"

"You'll see," He grinned at Sakura's frown as he leapt up to the roof tops, she quick to follow,

"Grr, I don't like surprises, Kakashi, tell me what it is,"

"Now, now, Sakura, I promise you'll like it,"

"You can't know that," He looked back with what seemed to be a real smile on his face,

"I've known you for over a decade, Sakura-chan," He could hear her grumble slightly something which sounded a little like _'yea, well there seemed to be a sizable gap in the middle_' but he continued, "If your mission is serious, you're likely to be away for a long time, right?" He grinned again, _was he…worried?_

"A while, yes…"

"And you've only just gotten back from another mission…I've haven't seen you for quite a while, that's all," Sakura continued to look at him a little strangely, but chose not to yet question when they leapt out of the walls of Konoha and activated the code jutsu to leave undetected.

"Hey, Kakashi-"

"Here we are," They came to a halt and Sakura was rendered momentarily speechless,

"W-Wha…"

"Hehe, I sort of need some help and as you're the only one that knows about the place, and whom I can trust, I thought…since you're not busy…" He scratched the back of his head and his embarrassment – be it genuine or fake – was easily visible; she stated at him for a few moments, deeply uncertain of how to interpret his gesture: he'd brought her to his garden.

It was almost the complete opposite of when she'd last visited, over one of the areas there was a sort of green-house construction, it was well camouflaged and seemed to possess extra insulating layers, presumably for the extremely hardy plants which were able to survive the winter.

Most of the other beds, however, contained only the dead remnants of the other plants and barren, frosty soil,

"The dead matter needs to be removed and the soil aerated before putting down another layer of mulch to help protect the remaining bulbs and make planting easier in the spring,"

He explained concisely as Sakura turned to face him, her childhood image of him being a lazy and somewhat perverted but extremely powerful shinobi not quite matching up to the sudden mental image of him doting over delicate little blossoms, she fought back the urge to laugh, but something must have shown on her face,

"What?"

"Nothing," He frowned slightly in mock irritation before walking a few steps closer and handing her a rake,

"Just scrape up all of the dead plant matter into the little composter over there," He pointed to a few small and fairly shoddy looking wood box-like structures, well hidden by the underbrush of the surrounding trees, "Then rake over the top few centimetres of soil and break up the large chunks, but be careful not to displace too much of it," She nodded, saluting him with the tip of the rake as she did so,

"Hai," He waved her off playfully before turning to work at the opposite end of the garden; Sakura stepped up to one of the beds, with the lack of foliage, she was now able to see to small, stone borders which had been erected.

They were only a few inches high and were obviously laid by an amateur, but were somehow endearing and fitted in with the garden's overall aesthetic – that all of the stone were slightly different from each other. She began to rake gently, at the dead plant leaves, finding them still severely frost encrusted; whilst she worked, her mind couldn't help but turn its attention to why on earth Kakashi would have brought her here _and_ asked her to help him care for it.

He had been so adamant about his privacy and the sanctity of the garden, which she could fully understand, but why now? Why would he suddenly now feel comfortable with her that he would allow her so close – personally speaking – and seem so relaxed about it?

Yes, they had gotten a lot closer in the past few months, as they'd worked together, so much that she'd almost not noticed and he seemed to have slipped into to slot in her life and she'd become very comfortable with him.

But somehow, Kakashi bringing her here felt like a crossing a line of some description – he could be a fairly strange and often confusing man at times, but he _was_ very deliberate; it must mean _something_ that he'd brought her here. Even if they hadn't already locked horns over it in the past, it would still _mean_ something.

But what?

Sakura wasn't sure, and what the little voice in the back of her mind was suggesting, put her on edge; this in turn had a tendency to make her do silly things or talk too much in an effort to distract herself,

"Kakashi?" She asked without turning around or stopping in her task of now raking over the soil,

"Hmm?"

"Was the statue always here? From the time the garden was made, I mean,"

She could feel his eye on her but she, instead looked over to the statue, itself soaked in the same rough, unrefined sense that the rest of the garden was, the stone uneven and hewn – but was very beautiful nonetheless, somehow seeming more meaningful for its imperfection and the connection with the harsh, unforgiving life of the shinobi.

"No, apparently one of my mother's great-grandfathers or so was a monk, and it was he who designed the garden way back… later, when one of her family members became shinobi, I think they made this statue when they married another shinobi – probably a symbol of the different direction the family took itself in, before all of the shinobi villages had even been created – but as the old shrine was here before, hence Konoha was located at this site..."

Sakura couldn't help but look over to him, to find him stood with one arm resting on the top of the rake he was using and his eye averted to the carving as well,

"Your mother was shinobi, as well?"

"Aah… But it seems that she spent a lot of time here working on it – even after she married my father and continued doing so right up until her death, just before I reached a year…I have only a few memories of my father bringing me here once or twice, but I think it reminded him too much of her and so didn't really look after it…

"I think it had been in her family for a long time and typically it's the eldest son who'd inherit something like this, but since she was an only child, she was one to nurture it with no one else able to." Sakura looked curiously at the unnaturally forthcoming shinobi stood a few feet from her,

"Well, whoever designed this garden had an excellent eye for the wabi-sabi* aesthetic," He grinned and cocked his head slightly,

"I didn't know you studied Zen, Sakura-chan," She rolled her eyes at the mildly irritating endearment, before shrugging her shoulders at him and diverting her eyes back to the statue,

"I don't… I just read a lot of books," She could hear him shift a little walking over to one of the boxes and lifting it from the ground,

"Help me spread this out…it needs to be a few inches thick," She nodded as he tipped out half of the box's contents onto the small flower-bed she was stood on, which was a pile of semi-decomposed leaf litter, which she immediately began to rake over the now churned soil.

Sakura had to admit, there was something very relaxing about working out in the open, about gardening and although she couldn't really figure out what, but it was precisely what she needed, to relax, before tomorrow's mission.

Quickly, all the work had been completed and both she and Kakashi wandered slowly back through Konoha, neither speaking, but Sakura didn't particularly feel a need to do so, her mind focussing more on her tasks for the evening: such as dying her hair, which she was _not_ looking forward to.

"Well, I've gotta head off this way and…uh...thanks for allowing me back to your garden, I enjoyed working in it," Kakashi gave a broad grin, which despite the man's ability to fake, Sakura couldn't help but believe that it was absolutely genuine,

"Of course…thank you for helping me, I really appreciate it." Sakura almost couldn't help her own, sincere, return smile, although it was a small and simple one, "Good luck with your mission, I hope all goes well," Her smile split into a grin as she offered a playful salute before she dashed off,

"Sure, see you," She was gone before she could possibly have heard his quiet, gentle response of,

"Yea, see you later,"

* * *

><p>The next morning, Sakura had awoken very early and spent time making sure to do quite a few meaningless things, which would create plenty of memories for her 'pre-mission morning' – such as washing up and organizing a few of her personal belongings, just in case it really <em>was<em> the mission she never returned from.

Nonetheless, the more mundane things she filled up the time with, the less likely someone was to find a random gap for when she activated her jutsu.

It was of course, designed to be very swift to activate so that the period of doing so, would not be a large or obvious blank in the subject's memories – hinting they'd done something to themselves (obviously, memories of utilising the masking technique (partially and fully) would also be hidden as a matter of course - once she'd activated the jutsu [2]).

She'd decided on about forty minutes of pottering, which included a light breakfast and adding the final touches to her civilian guise, which consisted of one of her nondescript jinbei tops and a long-ish skirt as well as a pair of knee high black boots.

As she particularly disliked skirts (awkward and difficult to train and fight in properly, hence _much _preferring shorts or trousers) she slipped on her old pair of training, spandex shorts; they were very small, coming to below mid-thigh (in many respects, glorified knickers) they made her feel a little more comfortable, should the need to properly fight arise.

Eventually, she was ready and sat down concentrating on performing the technique properly, thanks to her training with Ibiki and Inoichi the previous day she knew precisely what needed to be blocked off and masked.

She concentrated, quickly separating them out and masking them over, she had _a lot_ which needed to be masked and so the technique took a little longer than typical. It was a truly curious sensation as she could feel the memories of what she knew leaching from her, in the same way a dream – once so vivid – slowly slipped away as one awoke from sleep, and remembered the waking world.

The jutsu was basically a fail-safe, to make sure that she couldn't let slip any classified or vital information, but if the enemy was skilled enough (or brutal enough) then they'd know she was a Konohagakure nin, which would be trouble regardless.

But her memory quickly faded and she rose to her feet picking up her full backpack, she wandered out of the door, pulling it closed and locking it, before hiding the key in a small notch of the door frame.

She walked fairly slowly towards the gate to meet with the rest of her team, as she though over the upcoming mission – hoping that her and Naruto's interaction would come across as fairly natural as siblings…despite the fact that he never was very good at acting and their emotional distance from each other, would probably become quite apparent.

Sighing lightly to herself, she decided that she'd do her best to talk with Naruto about it whilst they travelled through the Fire country – that close to Konoha, they'd be safe enough from unfriendly ears and, especially since she wasn't given the time to go and talk to him as Tsunade had suggested, it would be far better to resolve any resounding issues sooner rather than later.

"Ohayo," She offered quietly as she arrived next to Naruto and Inoichi,

"Ah, good morning, Sakura," The elder male offered with his typical kindly smile,

"Morning, Sakura," Naruto – now an amusingly coloured brunette, offered too; she almost didn't recognise him, being in non-descript clothing (instead of being splashed with bright orange) and his hair being a more muddy-blonde to light brown colour – it definitely didn't look like him, though she was forced to admit, he still did look quite handsome

"We're getting the ferry from Wave, aren't we?"

"Hai, but we'll be getting off on one of the smaller islands, which it makes stops at, before it arrives on the main island of Water Country, we'll sneak into the mainland through a less obvious route, but Shikaku will go over the finer details when we make camp tonight, before we leave the Fire country – we need to be civilians before we even reach Wave," Inoichi calmly explained as he was dressed in a yukuta and fairly smart haori.

Shikaku arrived not too long after, dressed in an equally civilian like yukuta, which was actually pretty flattering on a man like Shikaku (one who she imaged to be good looking enough in his youth, but one so much older than her, she didn't generally give it any thought),

"Alright, we're all here…damn, I would hardly of recognised either of you two…" He grinned at both herself and Naruto, obviously approving of their civilian guises, "But anyway, it's time we got moving, Inoichi, I want you to take point, then Sakura, Naruto and I'll go last.

"We'll make camp fairly early as I want time to explain our precise movements right until we split up in Mizu no Kuni [Water country], and if we encounter anyone who isn't a Konoha nin, we'll need to act as civilians anyway. I doubt anyone will be a threat, but gossip and word-of-mouth can be a far more insidious enemy than any physical being… Any last questions?"

Sakura shook her head, as did Naruto, "Good, then let's get going… Not too fast Inoichi," Said blonde Jounin grinned, winking at his old friend,

"Gotcha,"

..

.

*Wabi-sabi is a world view, closely related to Zen Buddhist concepts, and focuses on the ideas of impermanence and transience existence – ideas that nothing lasts for ever and beauty can be found in imperfection. Generally, _wabi_ is accepted to denote the rustic, simplicity and freedom from ornateness as well as the quirkiness which comes from construction or creation (applies to both natural and man-made objects), whilst the _sabi_ is the beauty which comes with ages and the obviousness of its impermanence and finite existence – but neither translate easily, hence their understanding in English has changed over the years.

Zen gardens and Bonsai can be considered examples of the wabi-sabi aesthetic. This is very simplified, and apologies if any of this is incorrect, but I just wanted to give you a brief definition/understanding of what I meant, in the text.

..

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[1] Okay, I don't think I explained this properly, the masking technique (and the mental pathways created to 'retrieve' the information) would essentially be used if Sakura had be caught and needed to fully mask the information so that it couldn't be forcibly extracted. But Sakura wouldn't engage the 'full' mask until she had been caught or suspected she would be.

But, [2] for the moment, she was only utilizing a watered-down version which would allow her to group together the memories of what would need to be masked, but she still retained all of her memories (completely intact) until she such time she needed to fully mask and so 'forget' it – basically, she can still remember everything classified or not and will only 'forget' it when she fully activates the jutsu.

Even when the jutsu is fully active, she will still remember most things (i.e. ANBU secrets and pass-codes for Konoha, its military power etc will be masked) but all her medic capabilities, jutsus and all that will remain in her mind. Does this make any more sense? Obviously, if she couldn't remember anything then there would be no point in bringing her on the mission, right? So only when she's in danger will she fully activate the jutsu – so apologies for confusion.


	20. Chapter 20

Okay! Apologies for the delay and this will form a little part-one-of-two thing again, so I'll try and get the next chapter up asap. Thanks a lot to eveyone who's taken the time to review! It really means a lot to know you guys are enjoying the story! ^-^ *very happy*

..

.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_20. As The Cranes Fly To The East_

* * *

><p>Inoichi set a fairly swift pace through the canopy of Fire and throughout which, Sakura's mind kept running through her concerns over how she and Naruto would interact with each other during the course of the mission.<p>

Shikaku hadn't yet fully disclosed the major objectives he wanted Naruto and herself to fulfil, but she suspected it would require them to be on good terms with each other, whilst in close quarters (alarm bells: jangling) and both to trust each other, deeply (alarm bells: deafening). She desperately needed to talk to Naruto – even if it was enough so that she could get an idea of his thought process.

It was beginning to get dark and Shikaku was bound to call for them to stop soon, then he'd explain the mission objectives and then, Sakura and Naruto would have a heart to heart.

"Okay…Inoichi!" Shikaku's deep voice was well projected as it sounded as though he were right next to them, speaking at normal timbre; the elder blonde slowed his pace, as did the younger two shinobi, all came to halt on a few, vast tree branches, "I think this place is as good an any, eh?"

The Yamanaka nodded and hopped to the ground, closely followed by the rest, "Naruto, Inoichi – go and catch something to cook, would you? Then set traps," They both nodded and melted into the growing darkness between the trees. Shikaku knelt to begin digging out a pit for the fire and Sakura gathered some wood and kindling, soon she crouched next to him as they set about lighting the fire,

"Sakura, Tsunade-sama has informed me of your situation with Naruto," He looked her cleanly in the eye, "I can't say I'm happy with the set up, but she assured me you'd be able to resolve your differences,"

"Aah, I know… The Hokage had informed of the fact I had a mission with him earlier, with the idea I could have a few days to resolve any resounding issues, but then the situation became more urgent… In honesty, we have no direct argument, but I can't say we're friends; I was planning on speaking to him a little later, after you've briefed us… Both Naruto and I understand the crucial nature of this mission – and although I can't say I know the man he's become, Naruto always tries his hardest and we will not allow this to interfere with the mission,"

"Good… Then I'll get on with the briefing right after dinner," She smiled lightly as a pleasantry,

"Thank you," Inoichi and Naruto return a short time later and whilst the hares cooked, Shikaku explained how he an Inoichi's plans would differ from Sakura and Naruto's.

As the former two were to gather the classified and underground information on what the suspected terrorist group were planning whilst Naruto and Sakura were to not only find out how much the surface level politics and shinobi were aware, but also, based on the reports from Inoichi and Shikaku, they could spread suitable rumours to either coerce or fool the separatists into believing false situations.

They were to meet to exchange information roughly once a week or as needed, so that they could co-ordinate their 'psychological warfare' as it were; although they aim was not to engage – their single cell was far too vulnerable to act without backup, their primary mission was to bring back information so that Tsunade could then act on it.

Hence it was _vital_ that no one got caught or that if they were, they were never discovered as being Konoha nin; Shikaku, however was wise in both knowledge and experience and he knew that the likelihood of them being caught as well as what would happen, should such an eventuality be realized.

Hence the masking jutsu they'd be taught before leaving on the mission.

They'd eaten swiftly and soon Shikaku had Inoichi help him clear up the fire and remnants of dinner so that they could leave swiftly in the morning as Sakura took Naruto aside,

"The stakes of this mission are huge, we can't afford to screw up,"

"I know,"

"And for that, we need to be able to work together flawlessly. Naruto, you have to learn how to trust my judgement and learn how to trust _me_… I've been in ANBU and served as captain for a long time and I've seen far more that you can imagine,"

"You think I haven't?"

"How many times have you put yourself in the line of fire to save your team, whilst you were away?" Naruto averted his eyes slightly, "How many times have you been running or fighting to save your comrades' lives or precious information which meant the difference between having a home to return to or not? I know that past few years have been anything but easy, but I've had it rough too and we've sorted out the worst between us, right?

"Naruto, I really need to know that I can trust you to carry out my orders when I give them to you and that I can trust you to _trust me_ on this mission – to let me do what I need to." Naruto's gaze met her own, although his expression was softer, it was no more readable;

"You're family to me, Sakura-chan," His voice was plaintive,

"You have to give even family space, Naruto, how can you call them as such if you don't trust them? What's the point?" Naruto opened his mouth and looked as though he was going to speak a rejoinder, but he paused and sighed, exasperated, but sadly too,

"Naruto, you can't smother me forever… I _need_ to be able to trust you and this mission will depend on our ability to trust one another; if we falter it will fail, do you understand what'll happen to Konoha, the rest of the world, if it's really serious and we screw up?" Naruto nodded slowly again, his eyes hardened slightly,

"I know Sakura…I know…" She offered a smile,

"Good…and by the way, my name is now Imaike Komari – have you thought of one?" Naruto nodded,

"Okay, uh…Imaike Shuuichi?" He offered, and Sakura grinned,

"Not bad, Shu-chan," She grinned mischievously eyeing Naruto's vein pop just as Shikaku appeared around the corner,

"Everything sorted? Inoichi said he'll take first watch…Have the both of you thought up code names?" They returned to where the fire had been, which had now been banked, and there were instead large stones stood, which had been heated from the fire and were providing sufficient warmth for the group to circle the fire.

"Yes, Imaike Komari and he's Shuuichi," Sakura responded as she took a seat next to the fire,

"Good – and if anyone asks, you're a year and a bit older than Naruto, okay?" The both nodded, "And I'm Hizanaga Shin and he's Wada Masao," Shikaku finished, pointing at Inoichi who was grinning from his spot in the tree,

"Alright… C'mon Shu-chan, we should probably get some rest before tomorrow," Naruto, who was crouched, in the process of sitting, scowled angrily,

"Stop calling me that!" Sakura waved him off as she settled herself beside the warm rocks, feeling now much more eased that she and Naruto would be able to work effectively together and that there really _weren't_ any resounding issues between them. Still, she and Naruto would probably take _years_ to really make friends, but if she and Naruto could learn to trust each other through this mission, then there really wasn't anything she could complain about.

…

Early on the third day, they arrived in Kirigakure; late on the second, they'd departed from the ferry on one of the smaller islands and taken a rather obscure and wandering route around – spending the night on the somewhat more secure island – before joining the main island and travelling to the hidden village.

They'd made it appear as though they were two separate parties travelling to Mist before they'd even boarded the ferry to take them to the Water archipelago, as Sakura and Naruto pulled a fairly convincing sibling act; whilst on the ferry, however Sakura found it surprisingly difficult to banish her anxiety.

Such feelings were part and parcel of any mission and she'd long learned how to use them to her advantage, to make sure that she was always at the top of her game – but for such a mission with someone who was ostensibly a stranger, but with whom she had a history – was a different anxiety, one more dangerous than what an enemy could elicit.

They walked fairly slowly through the land towards Kiri, and it being a naturally misty place, gave the forest of silver-birch they walked through an enticingly ethereal feel; Sakura could tell Naruto felt it too and he seemed to walk a little closer than before. Before she could stop herself, the kuniochi found herself, for the first time almost _missing_ the brotherly sense she had with Naruto all those years ago.

He really did act like a brother to her, but she supposed that it was in his nature, having no family of his own, he tended to smother those he cared about, to excess – yes, she could understand that, but it didn't mean that she wasn't irritated when he acted inappropriately as a result.

They approached the gate, although they could sense that Mist nin had been following them for a while, but were obviously unconvinced they represented an unmanageable threat.

Naruto, as the protective brother, placed a hand on her shoulder as they approached the gates and a Kiri shinobi appeared in front of them,

"H-hey… We just want to pass…my sister and I have lost our home…" The guard eyed them for a few minutes before bringing a seal up to his chest and closing his eyes; to a shinobi, he was focusing his chakra to detect their own, but to a civilian, he was being really weird.

"...H-hey, look, we've been travelling for ages and an old friend of our fathers told us that Mist village had lotsa opportunities…we're poor and have nowhere to go – and my little brother, Shu-chan and I need somewhere to stay and to find work, that's all," Sakura used her most plaintive expression as the shinobi again opened his eyes – only sensing civilian chakra thanks to Sakura's natural talent for subtle genjutsu.

"Well, you guys are only civilians… Acceptable, but your ability to stay here will be subject to the Mizukage," Sakura pretended to look surprised,

"O-oh? We can come in?" Naruto's brash voice nearly shouted in eager anticipation, and although it tended to annoy most, it rarely failed to achieve its objective of getting a straight answer,

"Very well, you may enter," The shinobi leapt up and spoke with a subordinate, as Sakura saw, who then began to subtly follow them,

"T-thank you…this really…means a lot," Sakura bowed low to the shinobi who reappeared in front of them, before grabbing Naruto's arm, "C'mon Shuuichi," She hurried forward, grinning thankfully at the guard as they passed under the great concrete arch and through the gates into the Village Hidden in the Mist.

"Okay, how about we find an Inn for somewhere to stay first?"

"Ahh, no way, Nee-chan, I'm starving – let's get something to eat… What about barbeque?"

"Baka, you only think about your stomach…we'll find somewhere to stay first, then we'll get lunch; look – there's place," She pointed as she let go of Naruto's arm, silently wishing she could grin and give a thumbs up at how convincing his act was (although, it perhaps wasn't so much of a stretch if his appetite was still similar), he followed – slightly slower – as Sakura entered the small inn, it was fairly diminutive and pleasing to the eye. She pushed aside the small half curtains and walked in,

"Ohayo gozaimazu, I would like a twin room, if possible," The young-ish woman at the desk looked down at the small ledger in front of her for a few moments before shaking her head slightly,

"No, I'm sorry, we only have one single or one double room left," Sakura thought for a moment before vigorously shaking her head,

"O-oh well, thank you anyway, we'll have to find somewhere else, Shu-chan," Naruto grumbled something incoherently as the second he'd pushed aside the curtain to step in, he was forced to turn right around and step out again, Sakura following him quickly. She kept her eyes peeled for apartments to be rented out as well as rooms available,

"Hey, Shuuichi, keep your eyes open for any work, okay?"

"Yea, yea…"

* * *

><p>Inoichi sat at the bar, sipping from a medium sized decanter of sake, his presence was carefully concealed, but in only the way a highly trained shinobi was able; he was sat in the middle of a busy bar, waiting for his contact to arrive.<p>

He'd managed to make contact with one of the syndicate more than a month previously, his clan's secret technique had proved in valuable for taking over the minds of others for a few minutes to glean information and make himself appear just interesting enough to warrant attention but not so much as to attract suspicion.

Especially helped by the fact that Naruto and Sakura were doing an excellent job of making the syndicate reassess their information routes by making good use of whatever material he and Shikaku brought them – as well as returning the favour by telling them who reacted the most to hearing certain rumours.

It took him quite a while to gain enough trust that he could speak to a few of the 'foot soldiers' without causing them any trouble and he could slowly worm his way in. He'd been brought to their HQ of sorts once before, and he'd mange to piece together a lot of where it was located thanks to some of the reconnaissance work his daughter and her team had been doing some months previously.

But the syndicate was paranoid to say the least, they only time his eyes were unbound or he wasn't being given false sensory information by means of a jutsu, was when he was being directly questioned, in a cell of sorts.

Inoichi was due to meet with his 'friend' shortly, for news on what his next job would be; Inoichi had been sort of hired to help complete a few information-retrieval missions for the group although he had little direct contact with any of the major players – most of whom were suspected to be Mist nin – missing or otherwise.

Inoichi had really hoped this time to be able to really earn some trust and be allowed access (whether they knew it or not) to the more sensitive information the group knew or had gathered; the group had now been in Mist for a month and a half and although they'd all collected massive amounts of information all four of their respective intuitions told them something major was just around the corner.

"H-hey, Masao-san, it's been a while, eh?" The young-ish face of the shinobi he'd met with initially, as Inoichi grinned back and swiftly cast a swift genjutsu, making it impossible for them to be overheard.

"Aah, Yuri-kun, it has…how have you been?" Took another sip of sake without turning to the man, who was probably around Naruto and Sakura's age,

"Okay…uh…well, I asked you to meet me here because boss wants you to do another job." Yuri ordered himself a beer before turning back to 'Masao' and leaning in more, "You're aware of that middle-aged councillor to the Mizukage? Y'know, he's in his forties, black hair…a weapons specialist?"

"Yea, I know him…" 'Masao' took another sip of sake, as Yuri couldn't help but look around slightly nervously, as his beer arrived in front of him and the barman walked away,

"Well, boss used to know him, really well, apparently, and way back, before he started the Syndi-" He seemed to catch himself, "…Anyway, boss wants you to get some documents off him, real important ones,"

"Do I need to…_finish_ him off?" Inoichi asked subtly, only just loud enough for Yuri to hear,

"No, only get the documents, but we want you to watch him, too, see what his schedule's like, so that boss can send in someone to get him later," Inoichi nodded, this sort of practice wasn't uncommon, but it did give a good indicator of how much 'Masao' could be trusted and how disposable he was – trusted enough to fetch documents, but not needed enough to protect from such a risky mission.

"What sort of documents are they? How will I know what I'm looking for?"

"They'll begin by covering the basic succession means for the next Mizukage, but then it changes and begins discussing what should happen in the event of a coup and then it goes on to what the effects of another coup of Kiri would be, citing the mass extermination of the clans,"

"Hmm," Inoichi wasn't sure what to make of this, if word of such a document being stolen, got out, it would be far too inflammatory for the Syndicate to act effectively. And if the boss apparently knew this elder as well as the boy had inadvertently suggested, then why would he need to steal such a generic scroll?

All hidden villages had scrolls such as these, contingency ones and so forth, surely the 'boss' would have had a look at them or would have an idea of what would be contained there. Maybe there was something extra, that they didn't want Masao to know about? That seemed more likely, Inoichi nodded,

"What's the deadline?"

"As soon as possible."

"Okay, I'll need a few days to follow his movements so…a week?" Yuri frowned slightly,

"Make it three days, Masao-san. The boss likes you, but not enough to spare your life if he so much as thinks you've slipped up – or are going to," Inoichi nodded carefully,

"I understand…where do I meet you once I've got the item?"

"Contact me as soon as you have them and are sure no one's following you, I'll have further instruction for you then," He nodded again and the men went their separate ways, Inoichi remained at the bar for a few moments, finishing the last of his sake before getting to his feet and wandering slowly out of the dingy bar.

He supposed that it was, in all likelihood, a test – for the Syndicate to see how well he can cope with potentially dangerous material and if he is capable of following through on seemingly asinine orders. Inoichi turned the corner into a dim alley before twisting around to face Shikaku who'd just released the partial henge he'd used,

"Sounds pretty strange,"

"It does…though I can't really determine if there's something else to the scroll or if it's just a test,"

"A test sounds far more likely, but I know what you mean… start observing Fukushima just the same. Oh, and by the way, if you have any _laundry_ which needs doing, I hear tomorrow's generally a quiet night," Inoichi smirked lightly,

"Sure, thanks for the tip, I hate going there and having to wait for a washer," The old friends exchanged one last grin before disappearing back into the night, leaving no one any the wiser as to their plans.


	21. Chapter 21

I do apologise if this has all been too predictable for you, or if it's irritating and interfering with you enjoyment of the story! Some of you have already guessed (some) of the eventualities :( I can only hope that the way it's written appeases you! *pouts*

..

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* * *

><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 21: The Heron That Observes The Pond_

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><p>"Okay Komari-chan, you can leave; you did some good work, today. I'll see you back tomorrow at six,"<p>

"Hai! Arigatou, Mikuru-san," Sakura bowed low to the man in front of her whom she'd been working for over the past month and a half, her role as a smart, but fairly simple girl, was working perfectly.

Sakura found herself a job at a small stall which sold snacks and tea outside the administration buildings of the Mist and many of the nin walking in and out, tended not to check their voices in front of other, non-shinobi.

She walked slowly back towards her 'apartment', it was in fact one room she'd rented with Naruto, it was pathetically tiny and having to live in such close quarters with the man was, frankly, quite stressful, but thankfully, she didn't see him during the day and so got respite from the loud mouth.

Her job was extremely useful for her ability to whisper playfully, but conspiratorially, about the 'rumours' her friend had passed on and then carefully observe the reactions of those in ear shot. It was worrying at how many shinobi – especially those whom seemed to work closely with the Mizukage apparently were either supporters or sympathizers with the syndicate. The depth of the problem was apparently not exaggerated.

More than once she found herself being stared down by an angry shinobi after being pulled aside as she walked home, demanding to know where she got her information from.

She always claimed it was just her friend and she didn't really think they were anything serious – thankfully no one was quiet stupid enough to bring her any harm, but all of those who'd cornered her, became very quickly 'indisposed' and she hadn't set eyes on any since.

Luckily, Sakura had created a 'friend' who was her source of information, which was essentially Naruto in henge and kage bunshin form. Fortunately, Naruto's ability with the kage bunshin was good enough for him to create a clone with which Sakura could 'meet' and so get her gossip from. _Unfortunately_, Naruto's skill with a henge of a (realistic looking) member of the opposite sex was non-existent, hence she had to settle for an orioke [sexy] no jutsu.

At least she managed to convince him to wear more clothes than a bikini – which, in the end, turned out to be a tank top and a mini skirt; mercifully, it didn't look too much like him and she managed not to dwell on the fact she was sat with a nearly-naked (especially busty) female version of Naruto, in a dingy bar, 'gossiping' about the future state of Kirigakure, and possibly the world.

It was as disturbing as it was necessary.

She shook her head slightly to clear the thoughts, she was looking forward to meeting with her other two teammates, knowing that between them, they had collected some serious information and were moving swiftly with their mission, they could name pretty much all of the supporters – or at least those who always turned to avoid the rain.

But it really wasn't enough, the ultimate goal would be to get the names, location and skills base of the boss and top tier of the syndicate – then ANBU could move in, which it was now looking far more necessary to do – and so eliminate the threat if they couldn't. Sakura still had no luck in deciphering if the Mizukage knew about the syndicate and if so what she was planning to do _about_ it.

She _had_ to know, there was very little way that she couldn't, but how was she going to remove the threat to her? Was there a threat? Was Mist actually planning a war and this was their subtle way of declaring it, by pretending it started with a coup?

Sakura was beginning to worry herself and so directed her thoughts to what she would be cooking for dinner, rice and stir-fry sounded acceptable (internally grumbling about stupid social rules which meant the women always had to cook, did they think she hadn't had a long day, too?).

She hoped that Inoichi and Shikaku would have something more to go on this week, the only rumour she could tease out of what they'd told her, was fairly lame and although she spruced it up with a fairly incredibly twist for good measure (just to reassure the humourless and wicked ears and eyes she knew were now carefully trained upon her, so that anyone hearing it would outright dismiss it, but that the _idea_ of its possibility was firmly planted in their minds).

Sakura quickly organised her laundry as soon as she got into her tiny apartment, thankfully Shikaku had appeared and purchased a cup of tea and in doing so slipped her a note which told her it was 'time to do her washing'. Since it was still early, she began cooking and waited for Naruto to return, which he did just over half an hour later,

"Shuuichi, hi!"

"Hello, Komari-chan…that smells good, I'm really hungry,"

"Good, I made loads – its stir-fry and rice; but then we're off to do the laundry,"

"Aa, I hate doing laundry, why can't you do it?"

"I'm not your maid, baka! And there's your stuff too, so I can't carry it all… That's not to mention I made you dinner, you could be a little more grateful!" She looked angry and was scowling at him, but Naruto knew this was just for show – in case anyone happened to be spying, which was likely as he'd sensed eyes on him all day.

Besides, they only ever went to the laundrette, or some other seemingly inane task, 'shopping' was another favourite, when they needed to meet up with their two teammates (which was roughly once a week, so it worked out conveniently – he certainly wasn't acting his dislike of the chore).

"Okay, okay…stupid laundry," He whispered the last part as Sakura served dinner any they happily chatted about their respective days – the argument forgotten; Naruto expertly told her (well-disguised as inane chatter) that he'd witnessed a scroll exchange between two shinobi in an alley.

Sakura too regaled her day, but the only vaguely exciting part was that Shikaku came by – but she'd already secretly told Naruto this, so instead happily told him that she should get to see her friend soon again for another 'gossip session'.

…

A few hours later, all four undercover Konoha nin were discussing their plans for the next few days, after Inoichi had explained what'd happened with his contact, whilst they pretended to wash and sort laundry.

"It sounds risky, like they've planted a trap...or, if you don't screw up, a test,"

"My thoughts exactly,"

"I've been thinking about what he said, Masao, about you contacting him right after you've obtained the scroll…do you think he means to take you to the base immediately after, so long as you 'pass', of course?" Shikaku spoke up, his eyes still on his shirt he was folding,

"That's what I thought as soon as he said it…maybe I've finally earned enough trust,"

"Let's hope so, the longer we stay here, the more disastrous things are likely to get," Sakura chimed in again, as Naruto sat close by, listening, but looking bored.

"Agreed…but _if_ he does take me to the base, Komari, I'll need you close by to help me," Sakura shuffled closer to him, so that his words and lip movements would be much less obvious, "I was informed of your space-time ninjutsu capabilities, if they take me to the base, I want you to follow and infiltrate to obtain the possible information we need," Sakura nodded,

"That shouldn't be too much of an issue, but I'll need as much chakra in reserve as possible – especially if I'm going in blind, so I can't afford to get caught up fighting before I've even infiltrated,"

"Understood, we'll all need to go in; Shin can act as a distance perimeter and warn of any approaching threats as we go in, whilst scouting our escape routes and providing me with back up. Shuuichi can remain close to your position and provide immediate back up or cover whilst you infiltrate and obtain the information,"

"Hai…this will be tricky, though, we're going to need some serious coordination from the moment you start tailing Fukushima and then signal your contact to when we leave – successful or otherwise,"

"Don't worry, he and I aren't legendary at teamwork for nothing," He jabbed his thumb in the direction of his old friend, "…and you once trained under a teamwork fanatic, didn't you?" Sakura couldn't quite keep the automatic grin off her face at the mention of her old sensei. Inoichi's own kindly, sensible smile infinitely reassured Sakura that she could trust them as professionals, even if she hadn't directly worked with them before.

* * *

><p>"Where are they now?" He leaned over the stone tablet acting as a table, pouring over a detailed map of Kirigakure,<p>

"Outside Fukushima's quarters, sir, Masao is going in for the strike and the others are reaming to the side,"

"Excellent, when you bring him here, make sure his three friends follow and don't interfere until they're close enough,"

"Hai, Okiotou-sama…"

"Go and wait at the coordinates for them, as soon as he's out, send in Kin and his team to finish the old boy off,"

"Hai," Yuri bowed low and quickly disappeared as Okiotou continued to allow his eyes to drift over the map, it was a highly detailed ground plan of Kiri, augmented with his own map of the base.

He wasn't sure what he could expect from the group of shinobi – or where they were from, but from the recent changes… Some of his men fearing rumours which had sprung up which _did_ sound incriminating…and that new man Yuri found, who seemed to have all the right answers, well…

Okiotou wasn't a fool, and he knew that it was more than likely one of the neighbouring nations had discovered his syndicate's existence and had become worried, they were right to worry; of course, the five Great Nations may still hold the power but what did they expect to happen once the bijuu were gone?

The balance was severely disrupted and as a result, made way for the small crime organisations; Okiotou had waited for a long time for any real power, loyal shinobi who'd held him back before, were now doing his dirty work.

He knew that they couldn't be truly trusted, but their leg work helped out enormously but didn't tie him in; he'd had shinobi training, although his ability with chakra was extremely limited, Okiotou felt confident that the group was nothing he or his ninja couldn't handle. Or one of his partners, if any of them returned in time.

The woman was the obvious target, but she _was_ a kuniochi, they often proved more difficult to subdue or overpower than what might first appear; he'd nearly lost the use of a lung the first time he underestimated a kuniochi and wasn't so stupid as to forget the lesson.

Her 'brother' was also quite protective of her too and his actions seemed a little too automatic to be fully faked so they must naturally be close – which would also make his getting close to her more difficult; still proportionally, she was the easiest target to either attack or to catch out the other men with her.

Okiotou leaned up, tracing his eyes through the pathways which lead from an entry way, well hidden on the far side of the base; at first glance it looked more like an unguarded access tunnel, long forgotten from the bases' old roots as a training centre and administration building.

Okiotou knew that if the enemies were to infiltrate, then that was the most obvious means; the central safe where he kept his documents was well hidden and only known about by himself and four of his men, only he knew the combination.

Rising up from his semi-hunched position and walked briskly from the room, he took himself to where his secret safe was located and began to sort through his documents.

Years ago, as soon as his ideas began to gain momentum, Okiotou began making fakes of his documents, almost identical at a brief glance, but carefully doctored to make sure that they only spoke nonsense to a careful, trained eye.

He gathered the fakes together and closed up his safe again, folding them over, he stepped back out of his office, he began to walk briskly down the hall with the two guards at his heels;

"You know about the access tunnel on the eastern side?"

"Of course, sir, it is still fully guarded and sealed,"

"Remove the guards and the seals – open the passageway. Make sure the guards stay hidden and out of the way so that they can still observe the tunnel, but won't be immediately detected,"

"W-what? Sir, I-" Okiotou stopped dead, almost causing the guard to walk straight into the back of him,

"You will do as ordered, we are expecting guests and I don't want them to feel _threatened_… not immediately, anyway, understood?" The guard nodded, haltingly,

"O-of course, but-"

"I'll issue orders for when I want them disposed of, but initially, I want them observed and their capabilities assessed, understood?"

"H-Hai, Okiotou-sama,"

"Good," He turned and continued walking, towards where an old office was located, but suddenly stopped again, "You," He fixed his gaze on the second guard, "Go to my office and pack up all of the item _on_ my desk and my shelves, do not touch anything in the draws or cupboards, and move it to the office down here." The guard looked confused for a moment, but nodded

"Of course, sir," The guard turned and left, wondering if his boss had suddenly befallen a fit of madness – why bother to move his office now of all times? It would take hours and it was in such an impractical location, that was why he moved _out_ if it all those months ago. Sighing, the guard shook it off, and stopped by the small mess hall to rope a few subordinate in to help him.

* * *

><p>Shikaku finished scribbling his note, written in a complex, but relatively well known code in Konoha, so that it wouldn't take too long for Tsunade to decipher, but it would cause significantly more trouble for an enemy.<p>

He attached the scroll to the summoned animal's little leg, which was a bat (roughly the size of small grapefruit). Although he very rarely called on her, he was exceptionally grateful for the contract now as he waved the bat off and she disappeared into the night; her near imperceptible (to humans) sonar alerting her to every movement in the immediate vicinity.

He remained still for a few moments, making sure not to attract any attention; tomorrow night, Inoichi would infiltrate Fukushima's quarters to steal the scrolls and their mission would finally pick up speed.

* * *

><p>Shikaku nodded to Sakura and Naruto, who both crept forwards ahead of him, following Yuri and Inoichi who were walking, in complete silence, away from Kirigakure and back further into the birch forests which surrounding it, the dying light of the evening only just enough for them to see without artificial light.<p>

They'd travelled for quite a while, before Sakura and Naruto split off veering away from where the main entrance was, for the moment observing, Inoichi had been taken in the main entrance which was obvious in its own right.

Sakura looked carefully around, she could see five guards and could sense a chakra signature for each, they seemed to be Chuunin, tricky, but not insurmountable; she and Naruto crept further around until they were right at the back of the building.

They managed to remain hidden, but in doing so, Sakura couldn't see a clearly enough to the walls of the building; this area seemed less well guarded and had what looked to be an opening, or what she could see though the semi-dense mist.

"Shuuichi, we need to get right over to that wall,"

"Okay," They paused for a few moments, using the surrounding mist as cover, before stealthily darting across the open space towards the edge of the building, Sakura quickly inspected the seemingly custom built entry into the base, it registered that something was off but Sakura didn't have much time for analysis.

"Hey, make a clone and leave it here, then follow me,"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, something isn't right about this, I'll need you to back me up,"

"Understood," Sakura carefully moved aside the broken grate and slipped inside, _definitely too easy_, Naruto followed after and Sakura stole down the dark corridor, aware of a few presences close by, but unsure of their precise location.

The base was fairly similar to the basic administration building layouts, except for being significantly darker, no doubt in an attempt to hide the more obvious signs, from the outside, that the building was still occupied.

Naruto remained close with a kunai drawn which he'd seemingly permanently hidden on his body; they came quickly to an office which looked as though it was still used by someone, entering it, she cautiously looked around and upon seeing no one present, she hurried inside and began a more thorough search of the room.

"Hey, Sakura, look at this,"

"Quiet! Names, remember?" She shot him a pointed look but hurried over, seeing a safe under his hand; she pressed her own hand to it, searching for any jutsu placed on it,

"How can we open it?"

"We don't need to," She grinned and directed her chakra to her arm, carefully erecting a chakra barrier around it and plunged her hand straight through the safe door, removing the barrier covering just the very ends of her fingertips, she searched around and grabbed a fistful of (what felt like) documents before extending the barrier over them and dragging them back through the safe door,

"W-wow, what is-?" Sakura scanned over the documents which seemed perfectly legitimate as she began to read through them, but something was nagging at her,

"Space-time ninjutsu," She replied quickly as her eyes kept scanning over the documents,

"Wow…and you've got the scrolls? Then let's go,"

"Hold on," Sakura paused, "Doesn't this seem a little easy to you, like these have been placed here for us to find?" Naruto cocked his head to the side and opened his mouth to form a rejoinder, but he was interrupted,

"Clever girl, now how about you tell me how you got to them without opening the safe?" Both shinobi leapt to their feet and span around to face what looked to be another shinobi, Naruto crouched,

"Get going find the documents, I'll handle him,"

"Right," Sakura activated her jutsu to dislodge her entire body from its point in space (momentarily dodging a kunai thrown at her, for effect rather than necessity), with the momentary exception of the very soles of her feet before she turned, and ran towards the left wall before leaping through it, only at the last second, extending the barrier to cover her feet.

The enemy shinobi was so surprised to see her run through a wall that Naruto got all the opening he needed and took out the guard in a split second, before moving on to fight the next one behind him.

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><p>"The boss is really impressed with you, Masao, he didn't think that you'd manage to get it in three days,"<p>

"Really? Then why did he ask?" Inoichi cocked his head slightly, enough to signify that he actually wanted an answer as he followed Yuri into the base and down one of the corridors, secretly memorizing all of the details that he was able.

"It was supposed to be a test, boss wanted you to work for us properly, but he wanted to be sure he could trust you,"

"I see…well, then, I'm glad I passed, I want to work for him, too…it's been a while since I've had a decent challenge," Yuri grinned as he directed Inoichi into a small room, it wasn't too far from the main entrance but Shikaku would still probably have a fairly challenging time slipping into the building.

With any luck – if he really was about to meet the leader of the syndicate – Inoichi could use a variant of his Shintenshin no jutsu [mind-body change technique] to enter the boss' mind (whilst Shikaku held him with a Kage Kubi Shibari no jutsu [shadow neck bind]) and Inoichi could obtain the final pieces of information from within the man's mind – and hopefully get the _hell_ out of Kiri.

Inoichi walked into the room and noticed two guards stood towards the back, each held a fairly arrogant stance and were definitely shinobi from what he could tell – and by itself wasn't strange.

Arrogance wasn't usually too far behind most ninja but usually displaying such arrogance in front of a superior – especially to an organisation such as this – would spell nasty business.

Inoichi stood to the side, in such a fashion that he could see both the door and the two guards clearly enough, whilst keeping one hand on his hip and the other by his side, his weight on one leg, and his expression assured, but otherwise neutral.

Yuri didn't follow him into the room so he surmised that the boy must have gone to find the boss, this was fine, Inoichi could only hope that Shikaku had found his way in and that it they could avoid a prolonged battle.

After about a good half hour – it was a typical ego trip to make others wait for you, especially if they are or are going to be subordinate – Yuri walked back in following, whom Inoichi surmised to be, the boss.

He was well built and the best part of six feet, fairly plain looking, a face that could blend in – he had a weak chakra signature though; Inoichi assumed that he was shinobi.

"Wada Masao, is that correct?"

"That's right…and you are?"

"Masao-san!-" Yuri tried to cut across, the worry in his voice evident; but the taller, almost blue-haired man raised a hand, with an arrogant smirk on his face,

"It's alright, Yuri-kun, he doesn't know the proper etiquette, here…but he will," He turned back to fully face Inoichi, "You will address me as Okiotou-sama, understood?"

"Hai, Okiotou-sama,"

"Good, now I-"

"Okiot-" One of the guards stepped forward, but he himself was cut off by a sudden gurgling shout, Okiotou and Yuri immediately looked behind them, to where the noise had emanated and Inoichi sprung into action. His fist connected with the side of the guard shinobi's head before he knew what had hit him; he then span around throwing a kick to the second shinobi, who'd leapt forward, knocking him back into the wall.

Twisting around again, showing exceptional agility for a man his age, he brought the foot, which had remained high, straight down onto the stomach of the shinobi still on the floor, having not yet had time to recover from the initial strike, crippling him.

Turning to see Yuri still in the room, crouched, Inoichi pulling a hidden kunai from his person and spun, clashing blades once with the shinobi still in the corner, before gripping and twisting his arm until it snapped, whilst driving the blade underneath his ribs, killing him. Yuri looked truly nervous,

"There's nothing personal in this, kid," Just as he'd spoken Inoichi sprang forward, and thrust a heavy punch into Yuri's solar plexus, catching him by surprise, before he landed a second on the kid's jaw, knocking him out cold. He may have been a similar age to Naruto and Sakura, but he had nowhere near the skill or experience – he wondered for a split second, if that wasn't something to be proud of, in the two younger leaf nin.

"Hurry up, will ya!" Shikaku's irritated voice called from the corridor as Inoichi sprang out to find Okiotou held in the Kage Kubi Shibari no jutsu, Inoichi immediately activated his jutsu and entered the man's mind, very quickly beginning to sift through the information, confirming that he was the boss of the syndicate and that he held some significant facts.

Worryingly, most were centred around taking Kirigakure for himself, through his organisation (he had a lot of loyalty, apparently, too) before then using Kiri to truly upset the remaining great nations' balance of power.

There were a few faces who flashed prominently in association with the syndicate and their plan, but Inoichi didn't recognise any of them, note even from the bingo books. There were a few memories, too, of failing to make Genin as a result of his inability with chakra and a few (Inoichi was forced to assume) delusions of grandeur, but nonetheless, he had what he needed. Inoichi pulled back, and removed himself from the man's mind, just as Naruto burst around a corner,

"Where's Sakura-chan?"

"What? Why aren't you with her?" Shikaku retorted, swiftly, but still fairly calmly cancelling his jutsu, as Inoichi drove his kunai through Okiotou's chest, killing him immediately,

"We found loads of fake documents then a guard attacked us, I told Sakura to go and find the really documents whilst I handled the guy…that was about half an hour ago, I worked my way through the compound, but-" A sudden, large crash alerted the three as they darted to the end of the corridor, which opened up to a large hall, just in time to see what looked to be a splash of rusty-pink lying on the floor as one of the men stood over her crouched to bring his fist down in a heavy thump right onto her chest, her entire body jolted with the force of the blow as they could hearher splutter and cough. Her opponent looked up, finally noticing them,

"Aah, it seems we've found the rest of the party…you can play with my men for a little while, but I'll be taking this bitch, she's already caused me far too much trouble and I'll need to repay her the favour – and don't worry, she'll tell me all I need to know,"

Before any of the fellow leaf nin could so much as take another breath, the man seemingly threw out a scroll, unwinding it to its fullest, before be bit his thumb and slammed his palm down on the centre. His other arm was still resting on Sakura, from when it landed the previous blow, as both of them disappeared in a puff of smoke; Naruto took a step forward, but he could feel that it wasn't quite the flooring he'd stepped on, looking down he saw a tube of what looked like…papers?

Bending down to pick it up he only just had time to leap out of the way of a barrage of kunai as the three made an automatic retreat away from the veritable army who'd been stood behind the man. As they ran, turning the corner, Naruto tugged the small elastic band off the scroll of papers,

"What is it, Naruto?"

"I think…they're the documents Sakura-chan was looking for,"

"What? Let's see," Shikaku, held out his hand as Naruto passed them to him, no one slowing their pace, "You're right…she found them."

"We have to find her!"

"How? We don't know where he reverse summoned her to, it could be anywhere!"

"We're not going to leave her behind!" Naruto shouted back, as he began to focus himself to gather the nine-tails chakra,

"Well?" Inoichi asked, as Naruto's form was suddenly overcome with almost white tongues of flame as the kanji of the Hakke no Fuunin Shiki [eight divination signs [Naruto's seal on the Kyuubi]] seal spread over him,

"I can't-! …I can't sense her chakra! …Wait…it really faint…so faint that…" Naruto forced himself to concentrate as hard as he could, but it was of no use, her chakra was so weak he couldn't pinpoint it; it was like trying to hear one, near-inaudible voice over a room full shouting children – it was there, but he just couldn't figure out even roughly _where_.

"I can't pinpoint it!" They were outside of the compound and faced with a few more guards who'd obviously been waiting for them; Naruto, in his enraged and worried state, leapt forward, pummelling two of the guards before they had time to so much as blink.

A few of the others were occupied by Inoichi and Shikaku who were battling furiously, aware that time and numbers were well against them, Shikaku defeated his opponent, then called out,

"We have to get out of here, we can't stay and risk defeat or capture,"

"But, Sakura-chan-"

"Now! We'll discuss what to do about that when we're not under direct attack," Shikaku had already bounded away hotly followed by Inoichi and Naruto, the latter somewhat reluctantly, but swiftly nonetheless; forming a few kage-bunshin to remain behind and keep then enemy occupied as best they could whilst they made their escape.

Shikaku lead them in a south-westerly direction, hoping to leave the Water mainland and steal onto one of the smaller islands; they'd be a few hours on foot crossing the water, but it would give them time and distance over their enemies.

Naruto shut off the fox's chakra and his appearance returned to normal as he caught up with the Nara,

"When are we going back for her? Where are we going?"

"I requested backup a few days ago, with any luck, they'll reach us by late tomorrow…there's to many enemies for us to have any hope of engaging them successfully, even for you, Naruto, and I'm not going to let you rush in blindly. We'll wait for back up, then decide what to do, but for now, we have to get ourselves hidden,"

Naruto didn't say anything else, even though there were a few nasty questions whirring around in his mind; for the first time in a very long time, he couldn't quite bring himself to voice them. One of which he couldn't keep from asking himself over and over: _why didn't he send a kage bunshin with her? _


	22. Chapter 22

Title taken from an episode title of the same name, from _Star Trek: Deep Space Nine_ – I always thought this was a really leading title – I always ended up thinking of so many plot ideas (for Star Trek or Naruto etc) whenever I recited this title. And for some reason, it really sticks with me (even though I never managed to catch the full episode).

Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to review! Especially you anonymous one (Joys) to whom I can't personally reply: so thank you! ^-^

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 22: Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night_

* * *

><p>Kakashi sped through the trees, his pace even, but somewhat more on the sluggish side; his mission had been a long one – to Suna – and even in winter, the desert sun was unforgiving. Kakashi had to admit, as much as he preferred a sunny day to a rainy one, he couldn't cope well with extreme, high temperatures, cooler climes suited him far better and he supposed that being forced to work in the deep desert for three weeks was <em>not <em>his cup of tea.

He was supposed to be back in Konoha over a week previous, but the group he'd been helping Suna shinobi track, (as well as offer a few tips for tracking to the more inexperienced shinobi) were fairly crafty. Still, he was _finally_ on the return to a no-doubt still chilly Konoha, spring wasn't far away – another two to three weeks, he supposed.

As he finally passed out of River Country and back into Fire, his thoughts turned to his once long ago student, who'd been gone on a mission for over a month (if she wasn't there when he got back); Naruto was also out of the village and Kakashi surmised that the two must be on a mission – possibly together, although the Godaime wouldn't tell him anything.

And that could possibly have accounted for why Sakura seemed a little off when he'd caught up with her and asked for her help with his garden. The work really needed doing and but it felt like an insurmountable chore, until he asked Sakura; he was honestly, fairly surprised when she agreed and set herself to work without so much as a grumble.

Sakura's presence there was not nearly as oppressive the first time he caught her there – and, in fact, it became more calming as they both worked. He almost found his garden to hold more meaning with Sakura so willing to help – as well as her curious, but unpressured questions as to its origin and meaning.

As he recited what he knew – in a slightly more abridged version – he found that, whilst he _knew_ about the garden and its history, as he'd never actually spoken about it to someone or with someone and so the information became fairly meaningless.

As he spoke to Sakura, however, he found himself mentally running through varying photographs he'd seen of his mother and some of her family, one, taken in the garden – something he'd never done whilst thinking about his garden.

He found himself smiling at the memory on more than one occasion, it didn't surprise him too much, that Sakura picked up on the (no doubt) carefully planned aesthetics of the garden – but it found it pleasing that she admired the detail, that despite its age, it still represented what it was supposed to. Kakashi found himself really hoping that Sakura would return soon, he wanted to continue training at the high level demanded by space-time ninjutsu – it was boring by himself or working at the taijutsu level only.

Her fairly relaxing presence was a bonus too, she never demanded more of him (after her harsh, but enjoyable training sessions) that he was willing to give; which, he was startled to discover, was quite a lot. He'd gotten so used to her around over the past few months, that he found he couldn't quite remember what he did with himself during all the spare hours he had, not, now, taken up by either training or relaxing with Sakura.

Shaking his head, he decided that he should probably be paying a little more attention to his surroundings and redoubled his pace, hoping that Sakura wouldn't be too far behind and that he could then have his excuse back to avoid Gai a little more often. The last day of travel would no doubt be long and fairly boring, oh well, at least whilst back in Fire, he could pull out his book.

* * *

><p><em>Where am I? How long have I been here? <em>Sakura struggled to sit up, but her arms had been bound – as had her legs – and her chest felt as though it was on fire; it was pitch-black – an unnatural absence of light, so she must be in a room or cell.

Her eyes weren't bound, and neither was she gaged, but her chakra was at critical level - if she used anymore then it would be the end; her muscles burned with the excess use of chakra and the strain of unarmed combat after a month of no training.

The immediate panic of being so blind and helpless, was immediately quashed as she breathed as deeply and slowly as she could manage – forcing herself calm – the pain told her she had at least one rib broken. She forced herself to focus, despite her fatigue, thinking back to how she must have been captured…

_She darted away from Naruto, keeping up her jutsu as she ran through a good number of rooms, only adjusting it so that the soles of her feet would allow her to run or slip through walls. After some time of fruitless searching, she came to a corridor and cancelled her jutsu, she'd need all the charka she could manage, especially as Naruto was now occupied. _

_Leaping down the hall in complete silence, she managed to evade two guards – as much as she wanted to fight them, she knew it would be folly to do so and waste both chakra and time – neither of which she had in abundance. _

_It took a while, but she skittered down a corridor, pausing at the end, hearing a few muffled voices and footsteps, a door opening,_

_"Okiotou-sama, I brought Masao – he's got the scroll,"_

_"Did he bring his…friends?" _Shit, they knew about us?_ Sakura wondered, briefly,_

_"Yes, two have infiltrated, but-"_

_"My shinobi will deal with them; I want a look at this Masao…" The door closed again, "One of you stay here and guard my office," _Bingo_, Sakura thought, crouching slightly and pulling out a sebon needle which she'd had carefully hidden on her, and waiting for the footsteps to tell her that they'd left. _

_She peered around the corner to see the single guard remaining, she could sense a chakra signature to him, but it wasn't one of a high-class shinobi, pausing for a moment, she gathered a little chakra to her right fist before leaping out of her hiding spot and launching her sebon with her left, the guard was quick to deflect the needle but couldn't recover in time for Sakura's near immediate follow-up chakra punch, knocking him out and down the corridor in one. _

_Stealing into the office she scanned it over a quickly as possible, searching for a safe or box which might contain documents; it took a while, but eventually she came across a menacing looking metal box and swiftly activated her jutsu to thrust her arm inside and grab a hold of a few pieces of a paper. _

_After dragging them out, she scanned her eyes over them quickly confirming that they were what she was looking for, she rolled them up and dragged the band out of her hair to secure them together. Rising to her feet, she turned to dash out of the room but was met, halfway down the corridor by a number of enemy shinobi –one of which was stood at the forefront, his eyes menacing,_

_"And who are we? Little girls shouldn't be sneaking around in enemy territory," He eyed the tube of papers in her hand before throwing a kunai, which she only just managed to dodge; Sakura leapt back, flattening and tucking the papers into the waistband on the back of her trousers so that she could form hand seals. _

_She opted immediately for a Goukakkyuu no jutsu, which would fill the entire corridor and give her time to escape, as soon as the great fire ball had been formed, she quickly created a kage bunshin, then directed her chakra to her opening points so that she could slip through the wall undetected. Her chakra was running dangerously low, and could only hope that if any of the team was injured, it wasn't serious. _

_All to quickly her clone was destroyed and she had to redouble her pace; after a few more dodges and more than a few kicks and punches exchanged with some of the guards she encountered, Sakura found herself in some sort of main hall, she was about to take a step when she heard heavy steps behind her and Naruto's shout from close by in front of her. _

_Dropping the scrolls to the floor, she kicked them to the opposite end, managed to avoid the few chairs and tables which littered the room and tuned just in time to block a heavy strike from her opponent, but she wasn't quick enough to deflect the kick which sent her sailing backwards, her landed not well cushioned by a chair she destroyed. Before she could so much as take another gasping breath in, he was upon her, his fist and forearm smashing down onto her chest, and blinding pain ensued. _

Sakura's internal body clock was generally fairly accurate and she guessed that she must have been out for most, if not all of, the night. Gathering herself, she rolled slightly, to get more onto her side, rather than her stomach, which was how she'd woken up and forced her mind to concentrate.

She began to focus herself and activated the technique to mask the information she'd collected whilst in Mist as well as her ANBU and medical secrets; she only got as far as completely masking the classified information; but she only managed to mask the important, but not classified, (such as her identity as a Konoha nin) partially. This meant, that someone could force the information out of her if she was tortured enough, but they most likely wouldn't be able to see it if they invaded her mind.

Even so, the partial masking could be undone if she lost too much of her concentration and the technique failed (she would have to re-strengthen it or recast it at worst, every time she slept or was rendered unconscious). The leaching sensation attacked her, as she slowly 'forgot' most of her classified information and although it gave her a nasty queasy sensation, it ebbed away, thankfully, before she felt the need to throw up.

A pool of bright, searing light entered the room with the opening of the door and Sakura was forced to snap her eyes closed and scrunch them together in an effort to numb the pain,

"Well, it seems we're awake…" The man leaned down and gripped her by her upper arm, dragging her unceremoniously to her feet, fighting the pain in her ribs and chest, she allowed herself to be dragged out of the room and into an even brighter corridor.

Finding herself secretly intimidated at how weak and helpless she felt as the enemy dragged her down a corridor, her still sandaled feet catching slightly in the fissures between the sickly seeming tiles – the feeling wasn't one she'd experienced in _years_.

She finally manage to opening her eyes without squinting at the light to see that she was then lead into another room and dropped into a chair; this room had a lamp _and_ windows, she regained a slightly sense of balance and looked up to see the opponent who'd knocked her out previously stood leaning on the wall with his arms crossed.

"Who are you?"

"…"

"Who are you?" He asked again, his voice even, but demanding and unarguable, Sakura kept her gaze on him but made no move to speak. "Shall I still call you Komari-chan?" He sneered, but allowed a brief look of contempt to cross his face at her complete lack of responses.

"You stole some documents from a room in the base, where are they? I've had you searched but there not anywhere on your person. I will be very… _upset_ if I find they've been lost," Sakura merely blinked, secretly hopeful that he actually hadn't got his hands on them and the document were with who they were supposed to be with.

The man in front of her didn't have any chakra, not for ninja at least – though the other men around her were shinobi – her own chakra wouldn't take too long to replenish, she'd only need a little; but for now, she hadn't enough even to summon it, just in case she had chakra cuffs on an it drained from her and so taking her life in the process.

She couldn't yet sense any drugs in her bloodstream, but with no chakra available to test it, she couldn't be sure it meant she _hadn't_ been given any.

With luck, she'd know for sure what was going to happen within twenty four hours; that was usually enough for her to replenish just enough chakra to even the score a little, but if she still had such a low amount – even without nourishment – she'd know if there was further foul play. Only then, could she truly begin to assess her options, she'd just have to bear whatever came her way until then.

* * *

><p>Shikaku remained low, hidden in the brush as he observed the enemy, who were right on top of them, but had yet to be discovered. Naruto and Inoichi were at two and ten o'clock to his position, respectively, the former in a tree and the latter on also on the ground.<p>

There were approximately fifteen shinobi – all fairly low rank, but sheer numbers mean that they would sustain heavy injury or fatigue at best; it was late afternoon and they'd reached one of the smaller islands as Shikaku had hoped. The enemy were swift and had caught up to them without leaving much of a window; Shikaku knew he was far too old to truly handle this, as he could have done so fairly easily as much as a decade previously.

He had little option, however, as the enemy remained still for a few moments, making it obvious they weren't about to leave; he slinked his shadow forward trapping the front seven shinobi in the kage mane no jutsu just as Naruto leapt in from their collective blind spot with a rasengan.

Of course, the scouts at the rear were on look-out and shouted a warning as well as evading the worst of the attack, Naruto was immediately occupied fighting with a group of them as Shikaku cancelled his technique just in time for Inoichi to leap in and bring a kunai down on one of the men.

The Nara leapt in, too, drawing his own small number of shuriken to strike at one of the startled men, which hit direct on target, killing him, but before Shikaku could so much at hit the ground again after his leap, he was again set upon by another two shinobi, whom he thrust a kick at one, only to be forced to use his unguarded arm to block a blow from a tantō by a second.

Inoichi wasn't faring too much better, as he could land heavy hits, but they weren't really enough, whilst also dodging skilled swings of a tantō or the occasional ninjutsu strike, which had been carefully timed.

Inoichi leapt forward, landing front of one enemy, and pivoted on his foot, bring the other around with violent force to connect with the enemy's upraised forearm, deflecting his kick. Before the naturally blonde shinobi could regain his balance, another enemy had leapt in and threw a kunai first, which he was unable to dodge and so received the blade into his side.

Faltering, he only just managed to leap backwards and flick his hands through the seals for his mizu no tatsumaki no jutsu [water tornado] as it flew in the direction of one of the enemy shinobi, Inoichi took the moment follow it up with further taijutsu to the second enemy shinobi, who'd been kind enough to give him a second kunai.

Naruto, however, was fairing quite well, having immediately created a number of clones to go after the opponents one by one, by he himself stayed back for a few minutes trying to gather some sage chakra.

Unfortunately, his enemies weren't nearly as stupid as they looked and one kept going for him, his own element nature being fire, sending not only a barrage of kunai and shuriken at him – most of which he wasn't able to deflect, being short of weapons himself – as well as some high-level katon jutsu.

As he couldn't collect sage energy, with which to help him gain an upper hand again his elemental weakness, a prolonged, and therefore more dangerous, battle was assured. Naruto, dodging from tree branch to tree branch whilst forming the seals for four clones, decided that a healthy dose of 'Naruto rendan' would clear the worst of his enemies before he could stand back for a moment to gather sage energy.

About to leap in with his clones on his tail, he was forced to abort and avoid a large endan [fireball] no jutsu, which nearly singed the tips of his hair and took out one of his clones. A sudden cry from close to his left, drew his attention.

Shikaku, just as he'd completed the seals for a Goukakkyuu no jutsu, deflecting an attack was caught form his blind spot by an enemy tantō which sliced through his back in a fairly deep wound, just above his kidneys, a follow up kick was issued to his knee, dislocating it and crunching the top of his tibia. Unable to keep himself from groaning in pain as crumpled to the ground, immediately attempting to force himself to spin around so that he could brace any incoming attacks, as a second shout of

"Gatsuuga!" As a giant vortex seemed to appear out of nowhere and collided with the nin who was bearing down on him, taking him out, a second boot struck the other enemy nin in his side and a flash of blonde hair followed it down. Sighing in relief as he finally recognised the chakra signatures, back up had arrived;

"Alright there, old man?" Genma's cheeky voice resounded from just behind him as the Tokabetsu Jounin retracted his own katana from the chest of an enemy nin as the sebon bounced slightly between his lips,

"Oi, watch it, I do still out-rank you," Shikaku playfully shot back, used to Genma's generally teasing, but well intended commentaries;

"Where are you injured, Shikahu-san?" The voice of Ino cut across, as she knelt to his side,

"Right knee, dislocated at least, left forearm, and a cut on my back,"

"Okay," She tended to his knee first, able to see the protruding bone and awkward angle, she began to organise her chakra, already knowing that the injury was severe enough to warrant several healings, "Genma, go check on the other two for any injuries, would you please?"

"You got it," He seemingly disappeared, whilst he headed towards Inoichi and Naruto, both of whom were still dealing with an enemy each; Genma flipped his katana into a more sturdy grip in his hand before leaping forward to help a fatigued looking Inoichi.

"Not good, is it?" Shikaku asked, feeling the tingle of Ino's healing chakra on his knee, which still ached in painful protest, as badly as it had done at the time of injury;

"No, the top of your tibia's been crushed, which means I can't relocate the joint yet…this is gonna take time and probably the use of a hospital,"

"Shit,"

"Shikaku-san?"

"Yea?"

"Tsunade-sama informed us that there was a fourth member of your team, Sakura…where is she?"

"She was…captured…we don't know her location or current state," Ino looked shocked, but hid it fairly well, pursing her lips slightly, her eyes fell from his own and she returned her attention back to his knee,

"Ino!" Inoichi staggered over slightly, "Don't waste all your chakra on him, you'll need to save some for your old man,"

"Where are you injured?" She retorted, not yet shifting her attention from Shikaku,

"A kunai to the side," She moved one hand into the large medic-pouch at her waist and withdrew a patch of gauze, one hand still hovering over Shikaku's knee, still glowing green,

"Sorry, but you'll have to stem the bleeding yourself for a few moments," She threw the patch of gauze at him, which he caught and peeling up the edge of his top to staunch the flow of blood,

"Thank you,"

"Thanks, Kiba," Naruto cancelled his last kage bunshin, wiping a slight splatter of blood off his cheek as the Inuzuka rose back up to his feet after finishing the last opponent, Akamaru leapt to his side and yipped slightly,

"Oh, yea, where's Sakura? Tsunade told us she was a part of your team," The canine-like-nin, looked around even though he couldn't detect her scent anywhere in the area – it wasn't even on Naruto, meaning they must not have had contact for a few days at least. He looked back, catching Naruto's guilty, remorseful face as he looked back to where the rest of the group were crouched and walked over to them,

"H-hey, Naruto, what's going on?" The blonde ignored him as he fixed a stare at Inoichi, who was crouched with a hand pressed to his side,

"I'm going back for Sakura,"

"Naruto, don't be foolish; Shikaku's badly injured, I'm not exactly in the best state and Ino will need all she has to heal us…That's not to mention the fact that we have no idea where she is,"

"What happened?" Genma cut across, his concern growing,

"Sakura was captured…the enemy reverse summoned her and her chakra was too weak for Naruto to pinpoint…we had to get out and escape pursuit – which apparently just caught up with us,"

"Shit… What's the state of the mission?" Genma asked cautiously, aware of how sensitive his question was,

"What does that matter? Sakura-chan is in trouble!"

"But chances are, she's not dead – he'll want to know why she was there first, which gives us time…if we head back to Konoha and give what information we collected to Tsunade-sama, she can send out a team who'll be more efficient and won't undermine our efforts in the process,"

"You're just thinking about the mission!" Naruto couldn't quite keep himself from gesticulating as he could feel the panic rising in him, he couldn't leave her behind…he _couldn't_.

"Naruto! Shikaku and I need help getting back to Konoha and even if you rush off by yourself the chances are you'll just get captured, then what help will you be to her? Sakura is an ANBU captain and more than capable of handling almost anything thrown at her…we have to get back to Konoha, then Tsunade can send out a fully briefed team who'll be able to rescue Sakura and finish the mission we started, that was the plan all along. Why aren't you using your head?" Inoichi barely managed to keep himself from barking at Naruto,

"Inoichi's right, if you go in and screw it up, then there's a higher chance they'll just kill her, this way, there's a much greater likelihood that she'll remain alive," Naruto looked to almost be chewing on his lip, considering what was being said,

"Anyway, you aren't team leader here, I am. Kiba, how good is your sense of smell?"

"Better than a ninja hound's on a bad day,"

"Do you think you could detect Sakura's sent?" Kiba closed his eyes and brought a chakra gathering seal to his chest, Ino finally leaned back from Shikaku's leg, and digging in her pouch for a small vial,

"Shikaku-san, I've healed it as much as I can, I'll give you a pain killer, but unfortunately that's the best I can do for now…let me have a look at your other injuries," He nodded as Ino injected the mixture into his thigh before giving a cursory exam of his arm and set about healing it half way.

"I can detect it, _just_…it's a long way from here, though…she might be injured, the smell of blood is heavy,"

"Then we gotta go,"

"I said, no!" Inoichi cut across, "I would have thought that between them, Kakashi and Jiraiya-sama would have taught you to use your head,"

"Kakashi wouldn't leave her behind! Kiba and I can go and you can head back to Konoha with Shikaku-san, Genma and Ino,"

"I... You'd be walking into a trap…you two against how many enemies?"

"No problem, I can be 1 or a thousand!"  
>"That's short sighted-"<p>

"What if we wait behind and pinpoint her location, keeping out of the way, but we make sure she stays alive?" Kiba interjected, Inoichi shook his head slightly,

"And if you're captured? The situation is such an unknown that I can't risk the enemy gaining more leverage by holding more hostages…if I weren't so injured, I might be able to justify the odds, but…"

"Inoichi-san, what if I send a clone and a toad? They can keep an eye on the situation and report back as necessary!" The elder Yamanaka looked thoughtful for a moment,

"Do it," Naruto nodded and formed a kage bunshin which immediately stilled and began gathering sake chakra whilst the original performed a quick kuchiyose no jutsu,

"Hey, Gama-Peach, I need you to do some scouting for me,"

"Whoa, big mission?"

"Yea, Sakura-chan's in trouble, I need you to go with my clone and keep an eye on the situation, but don't cause any trouble!"

"Sure thing," Just as the toad gave a thumbs up, Kiba and Naruto's clone immediately looked anxious, sensing trouble,

"Shit! We've got company, there's eight of them…strong shinobi," Kiba spoke first and beckoned Akamaru, who appeared at Shikaku's side and crouched, "Shikaku-san, Akamaru can carry you back to Konoha," The Nara nodded and climbed awkwardly onto the dog's back, who rose to steady feet; Ino had bandaged his arm, but hadn't managed to get to his back sorted, he could only hope that the trail of blood would not be obvious.

"We don't have any option, we've got to get the hell out of here…ANBU can be back inside a week depending on how quick _we_ are to return… Don't worry Naruto, Sakura is strong, even without chakra," Naruto gritted his teeth but nodded, knowing that the argument had been ended for them – he waved his clone and the toad away.

The company rose to swift feet and darted away, Genma leading, followed by Akamaru and Shikaku, Ino, Inoichi, Naruto and Kiba last, all hoping that luck would be on their side from here on out.

* * *

><p>Kakashi landed with a silent sigh at the large green gates of Konoha, <em>finally<em> back, he slipped his book back into his pouch before offering a pleasant greeting wave to Izumo who offered a nod of acknowledgement as the silver-haired Jounin slinked up to the desk to sign his name onto the log, his thoughts on his immediate desires – a shower, lunch and then a visit to his garden.

He ambled on, slowly with one hand in his pocket as a few thumps behind him drew his attention, he frowned slightly, setting eyes on a very beaten-up looking team,

"Naruto, Genma and I can give the report, Ino, get Shikaku to the hospital,"

"Hai," She nodded at her father before leading Akamaru away, as Kiba followed too, with a nod from Inoichi; Kakashi subtly eyed them all over,

"Ohayo…tough mission?" His tone was conversational but apparently not appreciated, Naruto's eyes glued to the floor, not once looking him in the eye,

"You could say that, sorry, Kakashi-san, but we really can't stop to chat," Inoichi almost limped past him, again unusually curt for the friendly man,

"Shouldn't you have had a fourth member to your team?" He knew Genma, Ino and Kiba had been in the village for a while after Shikaku and Inoichi had left - Kakashi made sure to keep his tone inquisitive rather than accusing, as he easily spotted the stiff shoulders Naruto suddenly sported. Kakashi racked his brain, remembering passing Inoichi early in the morning over a month ago saying he was off on a mission,

"Kakashi," Naruto finally looked him in the eye as he glanced over his shoulder, "We're going to get her back-"

"Naruto! That's classified information, let's go," Inoichi hurried his on as Kakashi turned to Genma, hunched over the mission desk, as the Tokabetsu Jounin finally looked up, he was faced with the questioning glance of Kakashi. His posture was square and his face unforgiving, apparently he wouldn't be taking no for an answer, Genma mulled over his options, well aware of how much the kuniochi meant to him,

"Genma…"

"She was taken prisoner, Sakura was taken prisoner…" The brunette whispered just loud enough for Kakashi to hear before he swiftly breezed past to catch up with Inoichi and Naruto, unaware Kakashi remained stock still for a few moments before seemingly disappeared to Izumo and Kotetsu's eyes, whilst he followed the returning party to the Hokage's office.

..

.

* * *

><p>An – if you're pissed off with Inoichi or Shikaku, please give them a break, they would be _well_ into their 40s by this time – ancient in shinobi terms!

I know what you're probably thinking with regard to Sakura and her being left behind etc, but these few chapters are all very interconnected so its difficult for me to give you a good idea of the overall picture of what's happening – ideally, these three chapters (21,22,23) should be taken as one – but that would be far too massive with too much going on to post as one chapter, so I hope you can bear with me until I can get the next chapter out (hopefully within a day or so, if luck and inspiration are on my side!)

I have to admit, I don't like this chapter much as its basically filler – nothing exciting, just a lot of stuff which I feel needs to be explained, but it will be more exciting in the next chapter! Apologies for the lack of current excitement, lol!


	23. Chapter 23

Apologies for delay in publishing (lol, only I would call an extra day or two 'late') but it is a BEAST of a chapter so~

Hope you enjoy the chapter and hope it doesn't annoy you too much with the way it plays out...

Also: There are scenes of torture in this, nothing that I think is particularly gruesome, but just a warning in case your sensitive to such things :D

..

.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 23: The Hour Before Dawn Is The Darkest_

* * *

><p>"You are being very uncooperative, if you do not answer my questions, there will be consequences. Where are you from?"<p>

"…" Sakura glued her eyes to his torso, as he stood, still with his arms folded, leaning against the wall – the image of relaxation – but his voice betrayed all of his pent-up emotions. Sakura continued to stare blankly as she did her best to keep her breathing even and deep (as best she was able with a fractured rib) and her mind clear ensuring a passive expression. It wouldn't take long for him to grow impatient and begin to use force – physical or mental – to attack her,

"Where are you from?" He asked again and upon receiving no response, he made a gesture, pointing to herself and before Sakura could guess at what it meant, she was shocked by a punch to her jaw, the force was strong and harsh, enough to send her bowling to the floor.

Her already injured ribs took the near brunt of the fall as her arms were tied behind the back of the chair. The biting pain of the combined injuries was gross and a small wince of pain made its way to her face, just as quickly again, a strong masculine hand gripped her upper arm and hauled her, along with the chair, back to an upright position,

"Where are you from?" She refused to answer again and he made another gesture; this time, she was faced with a heavy, booted kick to her chest, flinging her backwards hard enough to crash her skull on the solid concrete floor behind her. She was again dragged to an upright position her head reeling from the sharp impact and the violent pain coursing through her from multiple untended injuries, her mind stuggling to make sense of what her body was feeling.

This cycle repeated about four more times, he would ask the same question, which Sakura would refuse to answer and then she'd receive the sharp end of a kick or punch for her disobedience.

The final time Sakura was slammed to the floor, with enough force (thankfully _not_ to break her jaw) but it was enough to break a tooth, which she spat out (along with a healthy glob of blood) in response to his question. The non-shinobi opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a pounding on the door, he wrenched it open to reveal a young-ish looking kid, who seemed terrified out of his wits to set eyes on a bloody, no doubt bruised, but empty looking Sakura,

"What?"

"I-I've got it, Ratsuroto-sama, I've got the vial you asked for," Ratsuroto looked over his shoulder as he held the door open and the boy tentatively stepped in, he turned back to face Sakura,

"Alright, since she's so uncooperative, why don't you boys give her the extended lesson on what happens when she doesn't answer the question she's asked?" She heard a mutter of approval from behind her as she was jerked to her feet and two strong arms wrapped around her own, taking full advantage of the fact her wrists were bound to secure her in a hold.

The other guy stood in front of her, and wasted no time in pounding punches onto her torso, through the blinding pain, Sakura tried to focus on the conversation Ratsuroto and the kid were having…_something about 'chakra-suppressant'…'works for two weeks'…oh shit, then I'll have no chance_, but before Sakura could focus on the rest of the conversation, another harsh, unforgiving blow to her cheek snapped her head to the side and the room began to spin.

She slumped slightly, the combination of too little chakra, exhaustion and pain were taking their toll,

"Oh no you don't," She was jostled so that she was more upright, and another blow to her stomach wasn't helping her keep the contents of her stomach and the aggressive nausea stole all of her attention so that when the next blow came – right to her solar plexus – she wasn't tensing properly and shuddering gasps nearly rendered her unconscious on the spot.

"You're sure this will supress chakra?" Ratsuroto queried, rolling the small vial around his fingers, the clear, colourless liquid looked so harmless,

"Yes, absolutely, he said that it will suppress a healthy person's chakra for one week but for one who's as ill a-as _she_ looks…it will be more like two or three,"

"That's assuming her injuries are tended and she gets proper nourishment…"

"…Yes, of course," Ratsuroto nodded,

"Well, we can't have her suddenly regaining her chakra on us, can we? Ninja are nothing without their chakra, she'll break soon enough…redouble your rounds and report if so much as a _leaf_ is out of place," The younger boy nodded and bowed politely, "Oh, and have Hijiku-san visit us, won't you? She might need a little…_mental persuasion_ – have him at the ready, but wait for my call,"

"Understood, Ratsuroto-sama," The boy left as quickly and as quietly as he entered, the leader placed the small vial on the table next to him and directed his next words to

"Keep that up till she's out…then I can give her the chakra suppressant and we won't have long to wait," The assaults stopped momentarily and Sakura took the opportunity to try and regain her calm, but it was near impossible with so much pain coursing through her veins, demanding all her attention, and the next kick aimed with crushing force was all it took for Sakura to feel one last blast of pain before she was lost to the forgiving darkness of unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>"Report," Tsunade schooled her expression into one of complete neutrality,<p>

"Mission successful, these are all of the documents we have collected from the base and Shikaku, Naruto and I have further information storied in our minds. There was a base of operations not far from Kirigakure; through our investigations we ascertained that the group had a vast majority of the support among the Kiri shinobi – although we were unable to ascertain how much the Mizukage knew or what her actions regard the syndicate were,"

Tsunade nodded in understanding as Inoichi continued, "We infiltrated the base, Shikaku and I killed the leader – Okiotou, as well as a number of other guards, we met up with Naruto and were forced to escape as we were severely outnumbered,"

"And Sakura?" The Hokage's voice was almost, _almost_ tentative, Inoichi took a deep breath,

"She was taken hostage by the enemy," Tsunade's eyes averted from Inoichi down to the desk in front of her,

"Do you have any idea of her condition?"

"Her chakra was extremely low, which was no doubt the prominent reason why she was captured, but the enemy nin who took her, alluded to wanting information above anything else, so there is good reason to believe she is still alive – Kiba was able to detect her scent from our location although he was concerned that she might be severely injured," Tsunade nodded firmly,

"Alright, Inoichi, you, Naruto and Shikaku get to Ibiki as quickly as you can for debriefing, then I want your mission reports on my desk by lunchtime tomorrow at the very latest."

"Hai, Hokage-sama,"

"And one last thing, who told Hatake?" Tsunade raised her eyebrows as Naruto quickly looked at the floor and Genma cleared his throat,

"We're sorry, Godaime Hokage-sama," Tsunade sighed heavily, briefly closing her eyes in exasperation,

"Well, get yourself in here then," She nearly shouted with her head half turned towards the window as Kakashi finally stepped out of his hiding spot and climbed in through the window, politely pretending not to notice the devil of a glare the blonde was shooting at him as he walked to stand in front of her desk, "And as for you two," She glowered at Genma and Naruto, "I want you two to familiarise yourselves with what the term _'classified information'_ means," Both saw it wise to keep their mouths shut as Tsunade dismissed them and turned her attention to a tense looking Kakashi,

"I want to go on the retrieval mission," Tsunade stared at him for a few moments; in truth, he was the first one she was planning on calling on, but his defiant and rude actions bristled her slightly – he was going to have to work for this one,

"You shouldn't even be aware of it,"

"Sakura was once my student and I consider her my friend; I happened to be returning myself from a mission as they showed up…you know things haven't been easy on the remains of Team 7, especially since Naruto's return, I don't think you can blame him for telling me," Tsunade narrowed her eyes slightly,

"I can and I will; it's been the better part of a decade since Team 7 was…_forcibly_ _disbanded_, yet the three of you left cause more hassle – and have done so since the very beginning – than any other team or shinobi in the village, almost." Tsunade sighed heavily, remembering the mirror of her own team's dissolving,

"Regardless, this can be sorted out later…you're one of our best at pursuit, organise a four-man cell, ANBU only, and once space is reserved for Taiji – she'd my _other_ ANBU medic," Kakashi nodded as his lips pursed into a grim line, which he couldn't quite control, thankfully she wasn't be able to see,

"Understood, Tsunade-sama,"

"Then report back to me here at one o'clock tomorrow for a full briefing and be ready to leave immediately after. I'll say it again later, but whatever state she's in, Kakashi, bring her home,"

"Of course,"

"Dismissed,"

* * *

><p>Sakura couldn't begin to figure out how long she'd been unconscious for, but she guessed that she must be back in her lightless cell, without light, time is meaningless – and that in itself holds its own sort of torture. Her breaths were short and laboured, if she only had a rib broken before, she must half a dozen in the same state now; her face ached just the same and Sakura was having a difficult time thinking logically.<p>

She'd suffered another physical beating a short while ago, Ratsuroto seemed impatient with the lack of blood, and so took a knife to the sensitive flesh of her underarms creating small, but difficult wounds.

He'd spoken about the chakra suppressant, trying to bribe her with it, but Sakura ignored him, she, quite literally, knew nothing of what he'd want to know and guarded her identity and home with a jealous fierceness – nothing could get her to voluntarily speak.

Trying to block out the memories, she focussed on the present, there was a foul taste in her mouth, but she couldn't be sure if that was the result of having gone what must be at least four days, or maybe it was five, without water (or brushing her teeth) or if it was the taste of a chakra suppressant.

Sakura knew a lot about every class of chakra suppressants from drugs – both oral and intravenous, to restrains such as cuffs, but had never been given any drugs, even for educational purposes, so she couldn't be sure if it was the reason she felt so much like a corpse.

Steadying her breathing, despite the wrenching pain, she was beginning to calm down somewhat, managing to twist her wrists together, ascertaining that it was rope which bound her, rather than metal; rope which wasn't infused with chakra and therefore easy to break – were she able to muster enough strength to do so.

The physical pain her body was under, was a large hindrance – but not insurmountable; the real issue which held her back (apart from not having eaten anything for well over four days) was that she would need to fight to truly escape and then still have the strength to run.

Without chakra and already suffering from mild exhaustion, coupled with serious injuries, it simply wasn't possible – even if she somehow managed to escape, death from exposure and exhaustion would be assured.

Deciding to see if she had _any _chakra, now feeling more confident to attempt to call upon it – cuffs absorbed chakra from the body when it was summoned, whereas drugs merely inhibited the mechanism for summoning – certain that she would suffer no ill effects from at least trying.

Reaching out, she could feel a minute amount of chakra, it was enough for her to remain alive and allow the body to begin healing itself naturally, but this was odd – for torture or interrogation purposes, cuffs were preferred, but if drugs were used, they would take the inhibition process a step further and cut of all chakra except to the vital organs such a lungs, brain and heart, for example.

But her chakra level was high enough that it seemed to flow through every pathway, there was only a tiny, weeny bit, but it was significantly more than would be deemed appropriate for enemy nin – Sakura had read through text books which detail chakra suppression and the different classes and uses of chakra subdual and the drug she had been given was a weak one – no doubt for medicinal purposes.

Sakura felt a rush of hope at the discovery; she could feel that her chakra was at a set level and simply couldn't muster any more, this meant she _had_ been given the suppressant and if it _was_ medicinal, then the level of chakra it suppressed would slowly drop, allowing the patient to slowly replenish their chakra over time (usually for patients suffering chakra related illness or injury to their chakra pathways).

And even though the kuniochi had only slight chakra, for her level of control, it would be all she'd need – if she got close enough to someone, and could move her arm enough… Ratsuroto was certainally stupid enough to do so, especially if he thought such a weak class of drugs would hold her - and try to cover his tracks by buying it as a medicine would be one his last mistakes.

But before she attempt to concoct an alternative plan to escape or at least slowly rebuild her strength, the door opened again allowing a large pool of artificial light into the room, forcing Sakura to snap her eyes shut until they'd adjusted, which probably wouldn't be any time soon.

"Finally!" About bloody time," He grabbed a hold of Sakura's upper arm and dragged her to her feet, she stumbled, but was held steadfast by the man's strength as he dragged her out of the tiny cell and back down the cold, blank corridor into the same room, with the chair in the centre, a window to the right and Ratsuroto stood to next to the door; the light was low and coming from an artificial lamp, emanating a sickly yellow light.

She was dropped into a seat again, her body aching from the movement as she struggled to look up at the man looming in front of her, Sakura could easily feel the presences of the two other men in the room, with their eyes boring into her;

"Well, awake again, I see…I must admit I was surprised by your resilience yesterday, I thought a little girl like you would have buckled under one of those punches, but I suppose it doesn't matter too much, you _will _buckle, it's only a matter of time. It did seem a bit silly to leave the girl behind, they're so much weaker when it comes to interrogation – surely they knew that when they decided to bring you on such a dangerous mission.

"They must be stupid, unless of course, they prepared for this eventuality and so told you nothing of value…but even _you_ must know where you come from and what your name is...

"Women are so weak, they give in so easily, are less resistant to physical and mental pain, they have a _glaringly_ obvious weakness when it comes to being faced against men," He grinned nastily, as he stepped forward and tugged her to her feet, she stood on shaky legs for a moment and he lifted a blade from his belt. He leaned down and sliced through the binds on her wrists, her arms automatically flopped around to her front.

Before she could move them and regain decent feeling, Ratsuroto had lifted them up to about a hundred degree angle away from her body, just high enough, outstretched in front of her, that the discomfort began immediately.

Her ribs, too, burned with the now awkward movement of her arms whilst her breathing became a little more laboured with the movement of her ribcage;

"You will keep your arms there and you will remain on your feet. If you move, even slightly, I'll take a finger. When I run out of fingers, I'll take toes. Understood?" Sakura didn't move or speak, but heard Ratsuroto growl slightly, as he stepped forward in front of her, "A warning for you,"

He took the tip of the blade to the sensitive pad on each finger and thumb and sliced through it, rendering her hands and fingers near impossible to use; she managed to supress a gasp at the sharp pain but couldn't keep her hands from tensing nor her automatic response being to pull them away.

Ratsuroto, however, kept a crushing grip on her hands as he sliced the flesh, a twisted, pleased smile appearing on his face as he finally got some sort of reaction; when he finally let go, leaving her hands shaking slightly, steady drips of blood spotting the floor and irritating the broken, wounded skin on her fingers.

"What is the point of a kuniochi? Hmm? That's something I've always wondered…it's a man's role to go out and fight for his home, his country…but a woman? The kuniochi role used to be simply to go out and seduce men for information…sent out _by_ men, but I'm sure you knew that – the kuniochi role had changed, and their given a more equal role to men."

Ratsuroto snorted at his own statement and all the while he'd been lazily drawing his hand up her arm, over her shoulder and down her back before slipping around her waist and up over her (thankfully still bound) breasts.

Sakura had to forcibly resist balling a fist and slamming it into his face with all the force she could muster (which wouldn't be a lot), her rage growing in equal proportion to the fatigue in her still elevated arms;

"Kuniochi are severely outnumbered by men in the shinobi world – and so it should be, men are naturally stronger, faster and cope better with pressure. Women tend to cope less well with being out in the field for extended periods of time, are significantly weaker than men…so what is the point of training kuniochi? Of spending so many resources, so much time and effort, for what is, essentially, a weak link in the chain? That seems silly doesn't it?"

Ratsuroto's hand hadn't stopped exploring as it traced down over her buttocks and hips, he stepped again in front of her and sliced at the material on her shirt at roughly the bottom of her ribs, yanking it away to reveal her stomach before looking down appreciatively,

"You are a beautiful woman…if a bit small," He briefly looked back up to chest height before looking back at her face, "And here we all are focussed on you… What of your teammates? They left…of course, I sent my men after them, but _you_ are holding my attention…seems pretty convenient, doesn't it? And of course, beaten up as you are, you're still easier on the eyes than any man…

"This in turn, is likely to make me want to take my time and be less inclined to hurt you. Which I must admit, is made more effective by your lack of scarring – most kuniochi had more than a few scars – all of which are quite unattractive, but you have delightfully few,"

He sneered again whilst pulling up the back of her top to look over the bare, flawless – if not bruised – skin of her torso. "Still, you're here, now and mine to do whatever I want with; I might as well add a few more decorations to your bruises,"

He let go of her shirt and directed the blade to her stomach, before drawing a bloody, weeping line across the flat plane, just above her belly-button. Sakura shuddered a little at the sting of the blade and the fatigue in her near shaking arms, _don't! Don't listen to him! He's not even shinobi, how could he possibly understand what we do? You are a medic, a ninja, one of the best in the Fire country and the world! Don't listen to this_-

The door burst open before Ratsuroto could say another word or take another action and before Sakura could figure out where her sudden resistance had come from,

"Ratsuroto-sama! Urgent news," He nodded and walked over to the door, listening to the seemingly frantic , but quiet words of the guard; Sakura felt as though her arms had been replaced by lead weights, he truly was a cruel man – nothing was more painful or difficult to endure than that which you put yourself under, even _if_ it's through unarguable coercion.

Ratsuroto listened intently to the guard, his anger growing by the second to realise that they were being watched – although apparently, only by a shadow-clone, still, he didn't like the sound of it and they'd have to move on again.

He ordered the guard to bring back the activating scroll so he could transport himself and his prisoner away to another hideout – he himself had used up all of his minute amount of chakra when he transported them both the first time; subsequent stress over his un-talkative captive, meant he hadn't gotten any rest to replenish it.

He'd been told about 'civilian chakra' – and that he was then taught how to sense his own which he could use in urgent situations, but it would take a long time to replenish. This time, the guard would have to use his chakra to activate the scroll. Hijiku-san should be able to join them at that compound too, once the guard messaged him and perhaps Ratsuroto could _finally _get some answers from the apparent mute behind him.

"Okay…" He walked back over to Sakura and smiled _too_ sweetly, "You're going to go to sleep now, and when you wake up, I'm going to have a fried of my go inside your mind and _force_ the information out of you. There is no way around it, I've had enough of your games," Ratsuroto jerked his chin at one of the nin behind her, and all Sakura could think in the spilt second, was that Ratsuroto must really be a stupid man if he was telling her what to expect – and therefore guard herself against.

* * *

><p>Kakashi was stood by the side of the old base where Sakura's capture had taken place, with his team close by him; he had to forcibly resist the urge to shift from foot to foot as he waited for his summons to howl, signifying they'd caught Sakura's fresh scent.<p>

_What was taking them so long?_ He'd pushed incredibly hard to get them into Water country in the fastest time possible - for which he was grateful for the ANBU standard, which meant he'd achieved the time he was aiming for. Even so, Sakura had still been a captive for about a week and time was growing more prescious with each passing moment.

They were still stood in rough formation, ready to leave, with the medic, Taiji, right behind him so that she wouldn't take the brunt of any attacks; although he knew she was more than any match for anyone, she _was_ the medic and he was certain that if Sakura was still alive when they found her, she would be in terrible shape.

Taiji, therefore, needed all of her chakra for healing, rather than fighting which he and the rest of the team could take care of, so she was in strategically the safest spot of the formation.

Yamato was next – he was excellent for both defence and offence – who could stay close to Taiji and could watch her back while she focused on healing Sakura, hence he was placed third. Kakashi decided on bringing Sai as well, whose ink creatures would be excellent for extra sets of eyes if they were infiltrating a compound as well as taking on the most difficult position for formation movement, the rear.

Kakashi found himself surprisingly pleased that Sakura's own ANBU team had been out on a mission and were unaware of the state of their Captain – as …_chilly_ as Sakura could sometimes be to them, he could see how much they loved her and bringing one half of her team with him would not be right – neither would disregarding them completely.

Kakashi did his best to focus on his surroundings – but his mind kept drifting to the potential outcomes of the mission; the possibility that Sakura might actually be already dead, or die in the process of getting her back to Konoha, was the most unsettling thought.

Once which seemed to keep all of his focus and made his blood run cold at the same time, he was thankful for his double mask layer, his cloth one and the porcelain one demanded by his ANBU uniform; he wasn't sure he could keep his anxiety completely away from his features.

His hands were itching to unsheathe his tantō, if only for something to momentarily occupy himself whilst he waited for his ninken to report in, _what the hell was taking them so long? Last I checked they were swift runners and Pakkun's nose is rivalled by none, so what_-

"Kakashi-taichou, Sakura-san is a highly skilled medic and medics tend to be resilient to almost all forms of drugs or are able to metabolise the worst of them – which says nothing for the knowledge we possess about them. A ninja's strength is in her mind and as a medic, she has an exceptionally intelligent one,"

Kakashi, resisting his first impulse, which was to bark a scathing response along the line of _'and if she has no chakra? If the interrogators are exceptionally cruel? Being rendered physically helpless means just that, no matter how intelligent she is-'_

His internal rant was cut short by a long low howl and Kakashi bolted from his spot, hotly followed by the rest of the team, Kakashi automatically kicking into gear, his shinobi instincts automatically overriding his uncharacteristically fearful heart.

He sped through the trees, only just managing to resist the urge to add chakra to his feet to speed up his movements, it wasn't long before they were met by Pakkun who only just screeched to a halt in front of them, before spinning and dashing away again in an effort to keep up with his master, who apparently wasn't slowing for anyone,

"It took a while because of the damp atmosphere, but we came across a base Sakura's sent is strong there but it seems abandoned,"

"What? Why didn't you pick up any scents leading away from it?" Pakkun gave an indignant snort,

"Because there aren't any…we made sure with a mile radius around but there's almost nothing…I keep thinking I can get her scent every now and then, but it's so faint I can't get the direction,"

"Shit," Kakashi muttered under his breath only just loud enough for Pakkun to hear, who was leaping from branch to branch with his ears flapping in the wind, not having seen his master look so anxious for a long time; Pakkun knew it needed to be said, but he didn't fancy the reaction Kakashi was sure to have upon hearing it,

"Kakashi, there was a lot of Sakura's blood around that place…we didn't go inside, but…"

"I know…as soon as we reach the base, tell the others to continue fanning out and alert me as _soon_ as you pick up her scent again,"

"Sure thing, boss,"

"How far are we?"

"Not too far…we need to start veering off to the west a little more…then on for another fifteen minutes…its fairly well hidden, but you should be able to detect the scent within about five minutes," Kakashi nodded,

"Okay, thanks Pakkun,"

"…We'll hurry, we'll find her," Kakashi didn't respond, but Pakkun dashed away before he would have had time to anyway, the silver-haired Jounin increased pace, desperate to find something which would bring him a step closer to Sakura.

They ran on, eventually reaching the base; Kakashi couldn't detect any chakra signature but he pulled out a kunai anyway before approaching out of the tree line. Just as he prepared to leap forward, harsh, heavy rain began to fall, thundering through the leaves; Kakashi focussed his attention on the base and darted forward, hotly followed by his team.

Flattening against the wall for a moment, he confirmed his initial sense that it was unoccupied and slipped forward to where he could see an entrance of sorts. As he slid open the door and stepped inside, he reached up and slid a hand under his porcelain mask, to tug his cloth one down to just beneath his nose; he was immediately assaulted by the stench of male sweat, blood and just hovering beneath it all, was the scent of Sakura.

He jogged forward, his footsteps silent allowing his nose to guide him towards where Sakura's scent was the strongest; he came first to a room, small, only a single window a chair in the middle. There was a nasty splash of dried blood just in front of the chair, with the kuniochi's scent heavy in the room, Kakashi couldn't see any instruments and the overall loss of blood appeared to be small, but that didn't mean she wasn't seriously injured.

Retreating from the room, his teammates holding back for a few minutes, he followed her scent down the corridor a few meters until he came to another room which was barely a meter and a half squared with no window or light source.

There was another pool of blood on the floor, but as in the last room, it was fairly small; even so, seeing it and knowing that it had been her blood spilt ignited a quiet anger in him.

In such a small area, Sakura's smell was much more pronounced and he could easily distinguish it alone, the smell was old, but not yet stale: she'd been gone for less than three hours, he supposed.

Kakashi stepped out of the room again to face his team and began to briefly explain the situation before he was interrupted by a soaked Pakkun racing towards him,

"Kakashi, there's nothing we can do in this weather, the rains too heavy and its wiped out every scent in the air…we can't do anything until the rain has stopped and the air's settled," Kakashi nodded, as the small dog came skidding to a halt,

"Tell them all to drop where they are, and wait for the rain to cease, pick it up again as soon as their able," Pakkun nodded, pausing only to shake off the worst of the moisture (and so nearly drenching Sai's feet) before sprinting away again, Kakashi silently thankful for his ninken's patience – he'd treat Pakkun to whatever he wanted when this mission was over.

"What now?" Yamato asked, his voice careful, but assured,

"We search this base, find out everything we possibly can, search each room and save any documents you find of value;"

"Hai, Kakashi-taichou," The remaining two teammates responded in a similar fashion and they all scattered.

* * *

><p>Sakura was jostled into wakefulness, immediately aware of – not only stinging pain almost everywhere on her body, including the feeling uselessness in her arms, but also of two hands tightly gripping her biceps. She could feel herself being lowered to the ground and propped against something – a wall probably;<p>

"She's awake? She needs to be conscious…and bound,"

"Don't worry, I'll keep a hold of her arms, and as for wakefulness," Ratsuroto's voice resounded from somewhere in front of her, just before a sharp slap cut across her cheek, making her jaw and cheekbone scream in protest as her head was snapped to the side; she winced again and a small grunt of pain escaped, before she opened her eyes to see the man smirking.

He rose to his feet, revealing another man behind him as they began to talk for a few minutes the other was fairly tall and had a mop of dirtly blonde hair and his face disturbingly kindly.

Sakura managed to remember what Ratsuroto had said before she'd blacked out, apparently the man in front of her had a technique similar to Inoichi's and as much as Sakura wanted to begin gathering her chakra (which she could feel had increased ever so slightly from when she'd last attempted to summon it) she knew it was more important to prevent him from learning anything.

She began to concentrate for her masking technique, to hide away the vital information of her name and home village as well as other snippets.

She didn't have long and frankly, trying to concentrate on masking certain information was a lot better than allowing herself to begin to panic over being faced with the closest thing to rape Sakura had ever been, and desperately hoped that it would always remain as the closest, but considering her circumstances, she knew it wasn't too likely.

"Hold her," Ratsuroto walked again over to her, jerked Sakura away from the wall and shifted behind her tugging her arms behind her back, clamping her wrists together. The man kneeled in front of her, staring at her for a few minutes, before commenting,

"Hmm, pink hair? How unusual, I am Doctor Hijiku and I'll be performing the examination," Before Sakura could even being to form a thought, let alone one in response to his remark, he placed a palm to her forehead and Sakura was overcome by a curious, but familiar sensation, as though someone had somehow opened her up and waltzed inside.

She resisted, shifting slightly, but he walked right through, it felt as though could look in on herself to see a miniature version on the man in front of her walking-into her mind, but was powerless to prevent it. It was something she would have found impossible to conceptualise, had it been described to her, but now, as an unwilling subject of the test, she couldn't ignore it…or stop it.

_No! _She mentally cried as the man seemed to ignore it, _NO! NO!_ A second and much louder and more assertive voice resounded, although Sakura heard it as her own, it almost seemed to come from elsewhere.

The invader seemed to realise this too as he suddenly dropped his hand looked to his left and looked surprised; a perfect likeness of Sakura herself came barrelling out of nowhere and punched the guy smack in the jaw, knocking him flat, along with a hefty cry of '_Shandaro!'_

Hijiku staggered to his feet, looking thoroughly confused as a perfect image of the woman's mind he'd invaded stood before him – the only difference being she looked perfectly healthy and had the kanji for _Inner Sakura_ written across her forehead.

"W-what the-?" The '_Inner Sakura_' growled,

_'I will not allow you to invade my mind! Get the hell out!'_ _Inner Sakura_ rushed forward again and thrust a punch at his torso, which he managed to block before she span around and kicked his fiercely, enough to force him to take a step back,

'Who the hell are you? A split personality?'

_'No, just the strength, and I'm telling you to get out NOW! You will leave! Get out of my mind!_' Hijiku snorted in apparent contempt as _Inner Sakura_ let out a large and almost uncontrollable scream of rage, before seeming to grow in size until she was so large, Hijiku appeared to be little taller than half a foot high.

He was suddenly gripped in the clenched fist of _Inner Sakura_, who looked to squeeze the very life out of him, he struggled for breath as _Inner Sakura_ seemed unsure of what to do with all of the rage within her as she glared at Hijiku.

The invader was seriously beginning to fear for his own life or sanity, or both, as _Inner Sakura _had him in her clutches her hand kept on squeezing tighter and tighter, Hijiku could feel his lungs getting short of breath and as though he were about to explode from the pressure,

'W-wh-what?'

_'Get out! You have no right to be here, you will get out of my mind and never come near my again or I will...I will…_' She didn't quite finished the end of her sentence as Hijiku founding himself flung to the floor with enough force to knock the wind out of him and feel as though he'd smashed his jaw in half, before he could come to his senses, he felt the giant foot of _Inner Sakura_ descend on him.

He felt the shock to his whole body and the nasty, crushing, claustrophobic feeling nearly overwhelmed him before he could cancel the jutsu and found himself flat on his arse back in the chamber – his desperate attempts to escape an impossibly vengeful _Inner Sakura_ blinding him to his own spatial awareness as he scrambled away from her.

Ratsuroto was staring at him as though he'd gone insane,

"Well?" Hijiku could only pant for breath, "Did you get what you needed?" He shook his head, "Well then go-"

"I'm not going back in there! She'll kill me!" Ratsuroto let go of the woman he was holding to walk closer to the doctor,

"What the hell are you babbling about, man? How could she possibly kill you? She's restrained, she has no chakra," Hijiku shook his head violently before leaping to his feet, snatching up his bag and hurrying for the door, muttering things like,

"Crazy woman…why didn't he warn me of such a violent split personality? …Die, I was really going to die!" Ratsuroto followed Hijiku to the door, bewildered at the man's sudden change of heart, the two shinobi standing guard over the proceedings, looked equally confused; no one understanding how he could possibly think the weak and tortured woman in the corner could have frightening him so.

Ratsuroto grabbed the doctor, just as he wrenched open the door and shook him slightly, demanding answers.

Sakura, however, had sunk to the floor, the shock of being so mentally violated – even if she had fought it off – was not something easily forgotten. Still, _Inner Sakura_ – a strength the kuniochi thought she'd forgotten - returned with a vengeance and stood triumphantly, chuckling slightly, with a clenched fist raised in victory. But Sakura's peace didn't last long, as _Inner Sakura _began demanding,

_'Focus! This is your chance, it only needs a tiny bit of chakra, direct it to your finger, hurry! It'll only take one good strike to kill him! Focus, manipulate your chakra!_' Sakura was tired, so very tired, bit _Inner Sakura _was right, if she had an opportunity to act, now was probably the best one she'd get, and so began to summon and direct her chakra to her finger tip, the still open wound of the split pad ached and protested at the tingle of chakra, but Sakura did her best to ignore it.

Ratsuroto was just about to hit Hijiku when a sudden crash and what felt and sounded like an explosion resounded from the far side of the building, he let go of the doctor to steady himself and Hijiku took the opportunity to flee down the hall and away from both the explosion and, apparently, their captive.

"You two, go figure out what the hell is going on…" The two shinobi guards immediate did as ordered as Ratsuroto decided to turn his attention to the young woman behind him, deciding to ignore the coward Hijiku; he advanced on her, slowly, staring her down as her green eyes met with his,

"You are so unexpectedly stubborn…" He face held nothing by contempt for her as he walked up and slowly lowered himself onto his knees before leaning down further to get right into her face, their noses less than an inch apart.

His hand came up to grip her chin as his fingers held on painfully tight, he eyed her with as much contempt as he always had done, completely unaware that Sakura was silently forming her chakra scalpel in her right hand.

She forcibly extended it to about six inches in length and with as much force as she could muster, raised her hand up; just as Ratsuroto shoved his lips against her own she jammed her fingers up against the fleshy underside of his chin, driving her chakra scalpel right through into his brain. It was enough to cause a fatal injury before her chakra waned, and her weapon was gone.

Ratsuroto leaned back as he gurgled slightly a look of fear and surprise written all over his face whilst blood poured from his chin and mouth, he spat out half a word and glob of blood on to her as he slumped to the side,

"B-bitch…" Sakura would have grinned and maybe given his corpse a kick for good measure, but she couldn't find the strength to move, she continued to lay, slumped against the wall as another explosion rocked the building and shouts and curses filled the corridor, _there must be an attack…_

_'Well, obviously, now get your arse moving before they find you and you're just a sitting target!_' _Inner Sakura_ shouted, her hands on her hips in indignant righteousness,

_I can't…_

_'Of course you can! On your feet! Sitting here will do no good!_

_But I'm so tired…if they're enemies, I'm in no state to fight, I should stay out of the way…_

_'You sound so weak! You are an ANBU captain; they don't know the meaning of 'staying out of the way'. On your goddamn feet!'_ Even though Sakura was still looking excuses to protest, she found her legs slowly shifting to curl under her and her torso shakily shifted forward, until she could put her forearm to the ground.

Desperately trying to ignore the wave of nausea her upside-down position encouraged, she pushed forward with her knees, sluggishly dragging her other forearm across the ground up until it was in front of her and she could put her weight on it, _so tired, so goddamn tired…I feel so sick,_

_'Shut up, stop complaining and get moving!'_ But Sakura's strength vanished as quickly as it had appeared as she slumped forward, her forehead resting on the ground her breathing erratic and laboured; her last use of chakra had cost her a lot and her body, it seemed, was finally at its limit.

Growling slightly as _Inner Sakura _continued to rant, Sakura finally agreed that dying here would be so incredibly pointless, she dredged a scrap of strength and forced herself up until she managed to kneel. More shouting from the corridor and almost blinding dizziness at the sudden change in position had Sakura careening for the floor, falling to the side and flopping helplessly onto her back, desperately trying not to vomit as _Inner Sakura _was giving her as much hell as her body was. She just needed a bit more rest...

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><p>"Well?" Kakashi asked, hurriedly as Sai cancelled his jutsu and turned to his head towards Kakashi,<p>

"She's on the far north side of the base, in a small room – there is a concealed but poorly guarded entrance close by,"

"She's alive?"

"Yes, but weak," Kakashi nodded, that was all he needed,

"Okay, Taiji and I will head over to get Sakura; Yamato, Sai you both work on bringing this building down and take care of most of the guards, I want to get going as soon as we have Sakura," They all nodded and disappeared, Kakashi, now being so close to the objective of their mission, found he couldn't quite stop himself from being the one to go and find her.

He sprinted off, leaving behind an explosion which rocked the southern side of the compound; Kakashi was already beginning to mould his chakra as he darted around to try and find the entrance as he ran, he reached up again to tug down his cloth mask enough so that his sense of smell was less inhibited.

Kakashi could see two guards stood close to the entrance, they looked nervous, and one kept looking behind him, back down the corridor before he suddenly jerked and span around. Kakashi and Taiji waited to see what would happened as a man, fairly tall with blonde hair suddenly barrelled out of the door, not seeming to care that he crashed straight into one of the guards who managed to catch and stop him.

Kakashi reached for a handful of shuriken and threw them at the three men in the entryway, the shuriken were deflected, but Kakashi was incredibly swift to uncover his sharingan and flash through the seals for chidori and sped forward.

He was too fast for the lower ranking ninja to cope with and an (albeit well timed) explosion caught them by surprise giving Kakashi enough time to drive his sparking, chakra covered hand straight thought the first shinobi's chest before immediately following it up with a sharp, flattening kick to the panicking man who'd run out of the building before thrusting his hand through the second shinobi's chest, killing them both in seconds.

He turned to the third man, who was shuddering in fright and Kakashi blasted his fist through the man's chest, erasing yet more obstacles to Sakura. He cancelled his jutsu and sprinted down the hall, his nose clearly detecting Sakura's scent, Taiji was close behind him, but he was faster eventually he slid to a halt outside an open door, immediately spotting Sakura on the floor and a man not too far from her.

Kakashi was crouched over her in a split second, pulling her torso up from the cold, concrete floor, wrapping his arms around her; Sakura just about able to register a sense of warmth she thought she'd forgotten. One of his large hands weaved through her matted, but again almost pink hair, cradling the back of her head as he tucked it right under his chin as his other arm folded over her back protectively.

She just about found the strength to lift her arms to attempt grip the sides of his armour, he squeezed her closer still at the feel of her barely-there reciprocation – confirming to him that he hadn't been too late.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan, I've got you," She just about heard his low whisper before he pulled away far too quickly, but before Sakura could make sense of any of it, she was scooped up into Kakashi's strong grasp and held closely to him as he dashed back out of the cell and down the dank corridor, the near-silent footsteps of his teammate behind him.

"Kakashi-taichou, I must examine Sakura!"

"We've got to get out of here first," He half shouted back, surprised that Sakura appeared to still be conscious, even if she looked like she'd gone through hell; as soon as Kakashi was out of the base and they'd ducked back behind the tree line, Kakashi reluctantly conceded to Taiji's authority as medic and put Sakura down. He winced slightly at her grunt of pain; Taiji began a cursory examination, her mouth twisted to a grin line as her hands glowed green whilst hovering over Sakura's chest,

"Sakura's wounds are severe but not untreatable, although they will take time…I'll need a few hours, at least, to stabilise her condition before we can even _think_ about moving her," Taiji didn't look at him, but her voice was firm; Kakashi didn't like the idea of remaining still, his instincts telling him to move and get back to Konoha as soon as possible, but he trusted Taiji to know what the right thing to do was and so stayed put.

He tried to keep his eyes and ears open for any approaching threats but his kept drifting back to Sakura who was stirring slightly, as though somewhere between being conscious and not, his anxiety still not quite breaking, even upon hearing her cracked voice,

"T-aiji,"

"Don't speak Sakura, conserve your energy," Taiji hurried her response as she focussed her chakra on healing the younger ANBU's badly broken ribs; both surprised and relieved to find Sakura in a slightly less critical condition than she had been grimly anticipating.

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A/n - hope you didn't think Kakashi was too out of character and for the _Inner Sakura_ bit, it should ideally be taken with a slight pinch of salt - but thanks to _Katdemon18_ for passing on the idea about _Inner Sakura _XD


	24. Chapter 24

Title: Genesis, _Follow Me, Follow You _

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 24: I Will Follow You, Will You Follow Me?_

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><p>It took about two hours before Taiji was satisfied with Sakura's condition and thought it acceptable to allow her to be moved; during this time Yamato and Sai had managed to finish destroying the base and killing most of the guards. Sai confirmed that the rest unaccounted for had been killed in the fall of the building.<p>

By the time the team had regrouped Sakura was awake again and marvelled slightly at how for the first time in what felt like months, she could breathe without blinding pain – although there was still quite an intense ache; she physically felt much better as Taiji had given her an emergency IV whilst she worked.

They'd hurried on, Kakashi eager to return to the main continent before they rested again and had urged Sakura to climb onto his back whilst they ran, she stood indignant for a few moments, wanting to protest that she could carry herself perfectly well, thank you, but even just having stood for a few minutes was already making her fatigued and she had little option.

Surprised at her embarrassment of being carried, Kakashi nonetheless lifted her as though she weighed nothing at all and they darted off, Kakashi had called for his ninken to escort them back at least as far as Fire – which was still quite some time a way.

Taiji had only managed to heal the worst of her chest injuries and after Sakura haltingly explain about the chakra suppressant, she had also focussed on her liver, encouraging it to metabolise the drug as fast as possible – Sakura's natural healing would be vastly quicken once her chakra was fully restored.

Sakura was still weak and had a lot of wounds as-yet unhealed, but they had been disinfected and carefully bandaged; even so, they were a glaring reminder of where she had just been.

Sakura was inwardly angry and confused – she knew that her interrogator had only been trying to get under her skin and weaken her, but some of his words had hit a little closer to home than she really wanted to admit – _was_ her role as a kuniochi as…disposable as Ratsuroto had implied?

Sakura had always wanted to be a shinobi, and whilst the opportunities and roles had opened up vastly for women, Sakura knew very well that it was still a man's world and that she would have to fight far harder and be far better to get an equal level of respect.

Yet here she was, again, needing to be rescued; the helpless girl unable to defend herself. Just the memory of herself during her younger years – and how she lived up to every pathetic stereotype of a 'girl' was enough to make her grit her teeth in anger.

She was forced to immediately stop from the harsh blast of pain from her bruised and possibly fracture jaw; the pain only made her feel more irritated with herself and life.

It was something that had always secretly depressed and frustrated Sakura, that her entire life and hard work – and accomplishments – could be so easily cast aside for something as hopelessly uncontrollable as gender.

And that she happened to be the per se 'wrong' one. Sakura sighed gently as she tried to fight away the dark thoughts as Kakashi's grip on her knees tightened ever so slightly and his thumbs rubbed gently over her leg, even through the thin material, it was a strangely comforting gesture,

"You okay?" He turned his head slightly,

"Yea…yea, I'm fine," Her voice was a little croaky and she couldn't seem to prevent it falling into a whisper, but she was so close to him, it probably didn't matter; he squeezed her knees again gently before he leapt off the tree branch and expertly landed on another, taking care to jostle her as little as possible.

Sakura forced herself to clear away her dampened feelings by medically rationalising them; of course she'd be feeling like this having just escaped torture and interrogation.

Capture and torture are among the worst things that can happen to a shinobi – to have ones strength ripped away and be prodded and hurt just like any civilian was one of the greatest humiliations imaginable.

It would take time and a lot of patience with herself to cope with her failu-_capture_ and Sakura partially dreaded returning home – the last thing she wanted was people fawning over her, or treating her like an invalid.

…

Kakashi began to slow his pace as they came within the two kilometre perimeter of Konoha; they'd spend about four days travelling, having to stop more often and for longer due to Sakura's fatigue and Taiji's desire to heal her whenever possible. He couldn't muster the emotion to be irritated by the time taken for the journey; his relief was too great at finding her ostensibly none the worse for wear.

She was still lucid and responsive – which was an excellent sign and Kakashi was more relieved than he anticipated he'd be at not finding her completely broken; he was shocked and angry at the extend of her physical injuries.

Although he wished to kill the man who'd done it to her himself, he found he couldn't quite resist a smile when he leaned that Sakura had been the one to finish him off, the bastard deserved nothing less.

It'd worried him, too, when he picked her up at just how light she was – the last time he'd carried her had been a few months ago after the training session when she'd lost an arm, and he wasn't inclined to say she was particularly heavy even then.

Whenever they stopped, he'd found himself reluctant to leave more than an arm's length between them, hating how fragile and _weak _she looked not only from the difficulties her unhealed injuries presented, but from the malnourishment and fatigue her body was under. Not to mention the still prominent bruising, yet to be healed.

It now seemed so unlike the Sakura he'd come to know and it seriously unsettled him – so much so that he found he wanted to do something about it, he wanted to do_ something_ which would help her regain her strength.

They'd stopped the previous evening about another day's travel from Konoha; whilst they could have pushed on, knowing the terrain well enough to travel in the dark, they did need rest, Sakura most of all.

Her chakra had recovered well (though still not totally) and Taiji had managed to heal her a little more each time they stopped, but her hands and face were still acutely injured and so eating and drinking was a difficult affair.

She pretended to be fine, of course, as she spoke with Yamato and Sai, both of whom graciously respected her wish for idle chatter as they recited what they'd been doing since Naruto had left, and they'd all worked together.

Kakashi could see through her fairly fake smiles and made a point of keeping himself and his presence close and constant; he knew from his own experiences of interrogation or torture that on the return climb to normality, having constants, especially controllable ones – no matter how big or small – helped immensely.

Kakashi slowed to walking pace as they landed in front of the large green gates and marched through them; it was early evening and already dark as Kotetsu, one pulling guard duty, managed to get a word out through his surprise at how calm the group looked,

"K-Kakashi-san…Sakura-san…" Sakura offered a half-hearted wave and a smile as Kakashi continued on,

"Yamato, sign us in, will you?" Yamato nodded as Kakashi walked swiftly, lowering his voice as he spoke next to Sakura, "Do you think you're up to going to see Tsunade-sama now? Or would you rather I took you to the hospital?"

"No, I need to see Tsunade – I know I look a state, but I don't feel too bad…uh, do you think you could walk a bit…faster?" Sakura hadn't meant to sound so tentative, and Kakashi secretly grinned under his porcelain mask,

"Hai, hai," He immediately leapt up to the rooftops and they found themselves walking down the hall towards Tsunade's office near minutes later; Kakashi knocked swiftly on the door, before opening it at Tsunade's call;

"Sakura!" The blonde looked genuinely shocked to see her being carried in, not too much the worse for wear on Kakashi's back,

"Tsunade-sama…" Kakashi crouched and allowed Sakura to slide off his back, she stumbled a little, but managed to regain her balance,

"I trust you have healed the worst of her injures?" Tsunade directed her comment to Taiji although her eye strayed quickly over Sakura's face and hands, noting the bandages and remaining bruising,

"Hai, Tsunade-sama, she'd been given a chakra suppressant – although strangely a medicinal one – and her ribs had suffered the worst injuries so I concentrated my efforts there,"

"Understood…" Tsunade looked thoughtful for a few moments, "Kakashi, I want you to take Sakura down to the hospital and wait for me there, I'll be down in a few minutes, once I've spoken to Shizune. I want all of your reports for this mission by late afternoon tomorrow, make sure you alert Yamato as well, Kakashi; dismissed," The shinobi in the room all bowed, Sakura only managing to incline her head a few centimetres before the bruised bone began to protest and she had to lean upright again.

"Sakura," Kakashi's voice resounded beside her and she saw him crouched again, Sakura couldn't help her frown,

"Again? Do I have to?" She grumbled under her breath, but Kakashi heard,

"You're in no state to walk," Sakura sighed and grumbled again but nonetheless slipped a leg over the far side of him and he gripped her knees whilst rising to his feet, making a swift exit.

He'd placed Sakura into a hospital bed before proceeding to remove the shreds of her sandals she'd somehow managed to keep on throughout her torture; he'd offered to tuck her in (wherever the hell _that_ suggestion had come from) but she dismissed it with a rolled her eyes and quiet comment about how he was fussing.

Tsunade was as good as her word and poked her head around the door soon after, calling for him, he'd since moved his porcelain mask to the side of his head as soon as he'd placed Sakura down, so he gave a nod and a small smile to Sakura as he left;

"I'm going to keep Sakura here for another day or two," Tsunade began, just outside her door as Kakashi closed it behind him, "She seems stable, but once she's fit enough, it'll be best if she's at home whilst she recovers but I don't want her left on her own.

"I want you to stay with her – only for a week or so, depending on how she is – the full impact of what's happened might not have hit her yet and I don't want her to be alone when it does… She'll need to see Ibiki for a full debriefing later this week, but she needs to regain some strength first.

"Normally, I wouldn't ask this of you and I can think of more suitable candidates to keep an eye on her, but frankly no one else needs to know about this except who she chooses to tell and I think the two of you are close enough to not make it too awkward,"

Kakashi nodded, he'd been expecting such an eventuality and was secretly glad that _he'd_ been the one called upon to look after her, he wasn't sure how he'd be able to focus on anything if her progress remained a mystery to him.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama,"

"Get some rest, Kakashi and well done…I'll call for you when I'm ready to discharge her in a day or two," Kakashi inclined his head politely and disappeared in a puff of smoke, glad to be free of the hospital.

Silver-hair reappeared outside of the building, intent on going home and doing his best to relax – he needed a few extra groceries anyway and thought it probably best to pick up a bottle of sake, _Sakura was back and, considering the circumstances, relatively healthy_.

Kakashi took a deep breath in the cool night air, his back and bare upper arms now feeling the chill having had Sakura's warm body pressed against him for so long; he strolled off in the general direction of the 24/7 shop only to grind to a halt as he set eyes on a familiar figure.

"Kakashi…is Sakura-chan…" Naruto looked worried as he stood still, but his posture was somewhat challenging,

"…She's fine, Naruto," Kakashi responded fairly curtly,

"When can I go see her?"

"Not for a few days at least," Naruto looked more and more pensive,

"Was she…um…angry with me?" Kakashi couldn't help his eye narrowing slightly,

"She made no mention of you…I think she was just happy to be freed; why?" Naruto looked guilty, his eyes left Kakashi's own and averted to the ground, "Naruto…" Kakashi warned, wondering why – if Naruto was implying what he thought he was – he'd come and _tell_ Kakashi about it,

"I left her…I fought off one guy and told her to go…that's why-" Kakashi sighed and decided to cut off his self-indulgent rant,

"Naruto, she knew, probably better than you did, what the risks were when you separated." Kakashi continued walking straight past Naruto and on towards his apartment, not feeling like the menial task of shopping anymore, just wanting the comfort and privacy of his own apartment.

As he walked away, ignoring the slightly stutter of Naruto, the emotional stress of the past week or so had finally caught up to him – the fear of Sakura's absence, of her torture and what _could_ have happened, seeing her collapsed on the floor of a cell.

His fear and frustration at seeming to be always one step behind and his rising anger and hatred of whomever had injured Sakura in such a fashion – what his fear was of how he could have hurt her.

Kakashi felt more tired than he thought he did as he leapt up to the roof tops, speeding away to his apartment desperate to find his first night of restful sleep in far too long.

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><p>"Don't you think this is a little over the top?" Sakura stood with her hands on her hips, outside the hospital doors, facing a mildly smirking Kakashi (unabashedly amused and gratified that she again seemed so much like herself),<p>

"Tsunade's orders; she told you, I'm sure," A tiny frown played on her face,

"Well I don't like it," Kakashi shrugged, feigning nonchalance,

"C'mon, it'll only be for a little while," Sakura walked forward, knowing that she really didn't have much of a choice, she could feel how weak her body still was, but it would soon change with rest and food.

Kakashi waited patiently for Sakura to change and meet him outside the hospital gates, as he'd brought her a fresh set of clothes; it was beyond surreal rummaging around in her underwear drawer (which mostly contained practical, and fairly plain knickers); his initial reason quickly forgotten.

He _was_ surprised to come across a few more of a flattering (but an overall practical) cut, which he was certain would still look delightful on her, as well as a few pairs of sinfully sexy, tiny, _lacy_ panties.

It took him a few moments of staring at them (and helplessly imagining what Sakura would look like in them) to remember he was supposed to be bringing her a change of clothes so that she could leave the hospital, whilst making it _not_ look like he'd done a thorough survey of her underwear drawer.

He couldn't fathom _why_ Sakura would have underwear such as these – she was a fairly conservative personality, in as much as she kept to herself – and to that end, it didn't make sense that she'd own such an impractical pair of panties.

Kakashi found it unlikely she was the casual sex type and was also sure that she wasn't seeing anyone (there were enough gossips in the small village of Konoha, that even a rumour would have reached his ears) – so why did she own them?

He wasn't complaining, just the sight of them, even without a model, was helping his vivid imagination created a few more fantasies which he was desperately trying to get under control.

It really did seem peculiar, picturing Sakura in such a sexy light – maybe she _did_ enjoy the odd night of casual sex, she certainly wouldn't be the first ninja to do so, but it just seemed so at odds with her personality.

But he didn't_ really_ know her, did he?

They could have been a present, perhaps from her friend, Ino, in an attempt to get the seemingly ever-straight-forward Sakura to loosen up.

After all, he himself _did_ own a pair of novelty underpants (which were apparently supposed to 'enhance' in foreplay) which were a present from Asuma, back in their teens. He wasn't very impressed by the gift and promptly stuffed it into the back of one of his drawers, but he hadn't thrown them away.

He wasn't sure why he still had them (they probably wouldn't fit anymore) but he did and just couldn't bring himself to discard them, instead preferring to ignore them.

Perhaps this is what Sakura had done with these pairs of underwear – couldn't bring herself to ditch them (maybe even wanting to wear them but having no opportunity (this was a nice thought…)) meant she'd merely put them to the side.

Not daring himself to rummage through her bras, he picked up a coil of bandages, which he could easily guess she generally preferred anyway, and stuffed them into the small bag before wandering out of her apartment.

He'd taken the opportunity to bring over a few items he'd need during his stay as well, before wandering off to pick up his charge for the next week or so. Sakura's pace was slower than typical but it was still fairly good for someone in her condition; now seeing her up close, he was immensely pleased to see her fingertips looking as though no injury had befallen them and her face was finally free of bruising.

Her hair was still a sort of ruddy-pink, but it would soon wash out; Kakashi immediately fell into line next to her, he wanted to take the bag out of her hands but knew doing anything to make her feel too helpless would hinder more than it would help.

"When's your debriefing with Ibiki?" He found himself asking, as they ambled slowly down the street towards Sakura's apartment.

"In about three days, Tsunade graciously gave me the rest of the week to write the report,"

"Aah, that's good…" Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets – having now changed back into his typical Jounin uniform, the sun was bright and slowly regaining its warmth after the worst of winter had passed, "What's your favourite food?" It didn't sound like a strange question to him, but the expression on Sakura's face and the heaviness of her quirked eyebrow made him almost worry,

"Uh…I'm not sure…why are you asking?"

"Well, as your first decent meal in what must have been quite a while, whatever you like best would probably be a good place to start," Sakura averted her eyes from his back to the street in front of her as she thought it over, her latest experience with food had been the grim hospital stuff which she'd forced down out of desperate hunger rather than anything else.

With the memories of that food being the most vivid, she couldn't imagine anything tasting any better than it – even foods she thought she enjoyed - and grimaced slightly at the thought of eating again, she sighed lightly,

"It's only early afternoon, can I decide later?" Kakashi chuckled slightly,

"Of course," They continued on in silence, Kakashi subtly but carefully keeping an eye on her facial expressions as they drew ever closer to her apartment, before long they were climbing the stairs and the door was unlocked; he allowed Sakura to walk in first whilst he remained on the threshold,

"Hey, I didn't have time to buy any groceries before I came to pick you up and…well…you don't mind if I nip off now, do you? I can leave you for a few minutes to settle in, I shouldn't be more than half an hour or so," He smiled lightly as Sakura took a moment to respond,

"Uh, sure…that's not a problem," She returned the smile gently,

"Good, is there anything you need?"

"Uh…yea…do you think you could…uh…pick up some more shampoo and conditioner for me? I ran out just before I left for the mission…sorry, it's kind of embarrassing," She scratched lightly over her cheek, trying to fight the blush which was spreading over them as Kakashi grinned,

"Sure, any specific type?"

"Ah, whatever's cheapest or on special offer – I'm not fussy," Sakura hurried, although she hated how _girly_ it made her seem, washing her hair was one thing which went a long way to making her feel clean overall, and washing out the dye still in her hair would make her feel infinitely more like herself again. Kakashi nodded and just as quickly disappeared again; Sakura slowly turned to face the fairly small room which was achingly familiar, but at the same time seemed so distant.

She toed off her sandals and walked through into her bedroom, her eyes falling over her effects which she'd sorely missed over her long – almost two month - absence. She perched on the edge of her bed, feeling slightly more at home but the alien feeling persisted – like she didn't quite belong _there_.

She forced herself to her feet and walked back into her living room and small kitchenette to rifle through her cupboards and fridge to ascertain what hadn't perished – she was grateful for something to occupy her before she eventually decided upon making some tea. Setting the kettle to boil, she guessed Kakashi must have turned on the heater in the far corner of the room as it wasn't nearly as cold as she might have suspected.

Once the water had boiled, she carried the pot and two cups over to the kotatsu and kneeled down next it, silently wondering if she would ever feel as though this is her _home_ again. Wondering how she was supposed to recover with Kakashi breathing down her neck – sure to report every little thing to Tsunade-sama.

She involuntarily shivered as she could feel Ratsuroto's hand intimately touching her again as she poured out a cup of tea in an effort to distract the thoughts and picked it up to take a swig without thinking, noticing that the liquid was tepid rather than steaming, as it should have been.

Sakura closed her eyes in mild frustration and emptiness, she just needed to keep herself busy until the memories weren't quite so…_fresh_, then she'd be able to step back and analyse, rationalise and so compartmentalise her experiences – then she'd be fine.

But she wouldn't be going on any missions anytime soon, her body was still too weak to train properly and what about her team? What would they say or do once they learned what had happened? Surely they would, how was she supposed to answer their barrage of questions? Their doubtless loss of respect for her? To regain her pride as a ninja after-

The sound of the key in the lock and the door swinging open dragged her eyes up off the small suspension of dark liquid in the cup in front of her and onto a smiling Kakashi,

"Hey, I was just thinking on my way back, that if you feel up to it, how about we go to that okonomiyaki restaurant, the one we went to after that first visit to the Uchiha compound? It's usually nice and quiet…"

He slipped off his sandals and placed the bag of groceries down on her small kitchen table, before turning to face her; his expression was expectant but in a fairly gentle way. Sakura inexplicably found the nasty weight in her chest had suddenly dissipated and a smile tugged at her lips before she could stop it,

"Yea, that sounds good," He nodded and set about unpacking the shopping as though he'd done it a thousand times before.

..

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I know that the whole 'living-together' thing has been overdone in other stories and what not, but it struck me as sort of appropriate here - i.e. I think Tsunade would genuinely worry for Saku and want somone to be there to help her etc.


	25. Chapter 25

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed lately, I was amazed at the response Chapter 23 got lol

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 25: A Fool's Way_

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><p>Sakura was leaning against the wall of the ANBU headquarters, hidden slightly by the fact she was down on of the alleyways, catching her breath. The debrief with Ibiki (unfortunately already put off for two days) had been painful, at first they went through all of the information she'd collected and masked which was a good means of settling herself as she recited everything she knew and they took notes.<p>

As soon as she'd moved onto the torture, Sakura could almost _feel_ Ibiki begin to listen more intently – as a specialist in torture and interrogation himself, he was apparently eager to hear about any new methods.

She wasn't sure how to explain that it was _Inner Sakura_ who fought off Hijiku and his mind-invasion technique and so didn't explain it in quite those terms, but they seemed to buy that she mentally resisted it with everything she had.

It took _hours_ and Sakura found herself exhausted – she'd left her apartment early that morning, not really wanting to face Kakashi and whatever comments he may have had about her avoidance of both Ino and Naruto the day before (even if he did try to find her twice).

She knew she couldn't avoid them forever and it was incredibly pathetic, but somehow, she just couldn't bring herself to face anyone and bear her shame wide open – Ino was sure to make a fuss and potentially attempt to come in and do some chores and stay for ages, and be too stressful for Sakura to cope with.

She could only just about manage Kakashi (even if he was a nag) because of his generally calm and subdued nature, he seemed to swan around on a sense of calm he brought everywhere with him and it seems to now naturally flow through Sakura's apartment.

They'd had a few serious disagreements where Kakashi decided she was being irresponsible with her health and Sakura was sick of living by his regimented rules – she knew he only cared, no matter how irritating – but they could also, apparently, be as stubborn as each other.

In the end, Kakashi only won because he was bigger and stronger than she, and he simply carried her back to her apartment after she'd trained for less than a fraction of the time she wanted to.

One thing, however, Sakura would _not_ bug Kakashi on (although it did surprise the hell out of her) was the fact that he was an excellent chef.

Sakura had to admit, she actually _looked forward_ to meal times and having some dish which looked and tasted amazing was a real treat and she had to admit after the initial shock had worn off, it didn't seem _that_ odd to think of Kakashi as a gourmand – it did seem to suit his nature, following what would most benefit his life as a ninja: that eating well was key to a healthy body and mind.

"Busy?" His familiar voice interrupted her revere as she leaned up suddenly to see him stood a few feet away, with one hand in his pocket and another holding _Icha Icha Violence_,

"Depends…not gearing up for another lecture, are you?" She retorted, slightly on edge that he'd caught her at something of a vulnerable moment,

"You can't avoid them forever – Ino was on the back up team to support Inoichi-san, Shikaku-san and Naruto, so she already knows. Naruto is desperate because he thinks what happened is his fault." Sakura pushed off the wall and made to walk past him, taking her eyes off him at the same time,

"Of course he does, I can't look after myself, remember?" She could hear Kakashi sigh as she snapped his book shut and placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her leaving,

"That's not what he meant, his role a then was to protect you and fight opponents so that you wouldn't have to and could conserve your chakra. Naruto acted on his own and didn't think, which left you unguarded,"

He could feel the tension in her from his grip on her shoulder,

"Nothing will ever change between you and Naruto if you don't go and talk to him, you don't have to forgive everything overnight, but what's the purpose is making an ally into an enemy? I highly doubt that will be your last mission with him, even if you were both lucky for that not to be the case,"

"I wasn't planning on never speaking to him again, but I'm just not ready to face him yet,"

"When will you be? It's not fair to leave him hanging," Sakura jerked his hand off her shoulder,

"Oh, save me your self-righteous answers to everything," With that, she promptly took off, dashing away to try and find a secluded spot before her strength failed her and she'd have to rest; it was another thing Sakura hated about her current predicament – her emotional state seemed to be in constant turmoil, as though she couldn't feel any one thing for more than about five minutes.

She used to be quite stable and it took a lot to really rile her up, but now, it felt like yet another challenge, just to keep herself in check and not snap at anyone which didn't deserve it.

It seemed like even the tiniest thing could tip her into a bad mood. And after the briefing with Ibiki where all the memories had been dredged up again, especially those she really wanted to forget– or had been close to doing so, were now back at the forefront of her mind and as vivid as when they'd happened.

She hated too, that it made her seem to fit right in the girly-stereotype, _again_ – it seemed like everything was out to drive her crazy – it was almost frightening how out of control of herself and her environment she felt.

She couldn't go home because no doubt Kakashi would be there, ready to being the fight again; she didn't want stay out in the village for too long, because she might run into Ino or Naruto or someone, but of course, neither could she stay out forever.

She was already tired and there was some part of her which wanted to go to sleep and not bother waking up again…thank Kami her team were still away on a mission – she'd never survive if she had those three fussing and arguing about what had happened.

She kept on walking, despite her fatigue, her steps taking her over the top of the Hokage monument until she found the staircase on the far side and began a slow decent.

She wanted to stop and sit but each carved stair was muddy and moss-slicked from winter, slowing her pace even further, lest she fall, Sakura's mind drifted to Kakashi again; it was a surprise, but she found him extremely easy to live with (when he wasn't intent on driving her crazy with frustration).

He seemed happy enough on her little pull-out futon she primarily kept from her years working in the hospital before she joined ANBU – when she held a more open-door policy for injured shinobi. He was an early riser much as she was, but the lackadaisical and bored manner seemed all the more fake, he smiled more often and, dare she say it, seemed _chatty_.

It wasn't so much idle prattling, which she was grateful for, they talked about jutsu most often, Kakashi wanting to hear more on her development of her space-time jutsu (as well as nagged her for not naming it), he was fascinated by watching her create the 'film' through his sharingan, taking a few minutes to digest all of the information before offering his analysis on how to improve her chakra flow.

They talked about ANBU training too – apparently, Kakashi hadn't found it _too_ difficult as he'd said that he'd essentially schooled himself in the emotional discipline needed (due to events he refused to elaborate on) well before he applied.

Sakura had never seen him look nostalgic, but as he spoke about how disapproving his sensei had been when he asked him to offer his support and it had apparently taken Kakashi nearly four full months to convince his teacher – who'd also been the Hokage at the time so he couldn't be overruled – that he was a suitable candidate.

The silver-haired shinobi – when he'd passed the entrance exam with flying colours – which he'd taken the time to point it out to his prior sensei, demanding to know why he'd been denied for so long (when he was clearly good enough); the Yondaime had said that he thought it would do Kakashi good to remain in the village for a while – especially after the eclipse of war.

Interestingly, it was apparently around that time that he'd begun his rivalry-slash-friendship with Gai and as his ANBU missions began to take their toll, Kakashi guessed that what Minato had really been saying, was that he wouldn't survive ANBU if he didn't have friends on the outside to take his mind of things whenever he returned – to give his home meaning and something to return to.

Sakura didn't quite understand all of what he was saying, but she suspected they revolved around the suspicious gaps in his story telling which he wasn't comfortable with discussing.

Sakura had found herself partially agreeing with him when he spoke about the emotional discipline, that whilst she'd had a relatively easy life compared to most shinobi and ninja families or clans, she did understand a _lot_ about emotion and what its real (although often subtle) impact on a mission was.

In a twisted sort of way, she'd said, Sasuke had yet again proven his distant value through 'tough love'.

Kakashi offered a wry smile at her words, obviously understanding what she meant but he looked sort of sad, as if becoming a sensei himself gave him the opportunity to really understand what Minato had been saying to him – a fourteen year old at the time who was too eager to wipe the slate clean and serve his village hadn't been able to see.

He seemed to relax around her more, she'd often woken up in the morning to find him stood, leaning against her kitchen counter, waiting for the kettle to boil, in little more than a pair of boxers and his skin-tight tank top with attached mask; she made a point of acting as though noting was amiss.

In a strange way, too, it made her feel better seeing that he was so relaxed both with her and in her home – she knew that if he stood on ceremony, then she would have felt permanently on edge.

Kakashi's state of dress on such occasions, however, did _not_ go unappreciated – like most shinobi, his body was _very_ easy on the eyes and Sakura was a firm believer in the fact that beauty was a democratic thing – it could be appreciated by anybody (so long as one knew both boundaries and _tact,_ of course).

The recently re-awakened _Inner Sakura_ didn't waste the opportunity to take mental snapshot and continue to "appreciate" his physique in the way real Sakura couldn't.

She knew that making Kakashi aware of either the fact she thought him to be good looking or that she saw nothing wrong with the occasional ogle, was most definitely a bad idea (and, hence _Inner Sakura_ wasted no time in taking over the reins on that one).

Kakashi – despite being an exceptional shinobi and surprisingly decent guy – was still a pervert, and Sakura would bet an awful lot that if he ever knew of her thoughts, then he would give as good as he got.

He read _Icha Icha _considerably less too (although he still had a healthy collection stock-piled in her apartment) his favourite time to read – or so it seemed to her – were the few spare hours post dinner but pre-bedtime.

It was usually at these times Sakura found herself most able to write up the lengthy report on her past mission; it was a bad time to write for it tended to make her nights restless – filling her thoughts with saturnine images did nothing for her ability to sleep. She'd awoken once from dreams which lead her to far darker places than, thankfully, what her captors had done to her, to find him stood in her doorway, his concern evident.

Sakura, of course, brushed him off and telling him she was fine, even though she could feel her hands shaking as she swiped one through her hair; instead of leaving as requested, he wandered over to her. She hadn't noticed that he hadn't left until the bed dipped beside her and his cool voice merely asked 'what happened?'

She answered briefly, a part of her not wanting to bear her shame to Kakashi, so she skimmed over the details; he stayed for a while, sitting close – closer than perhaps friends might – but not close enough for any physical contact to occur.

Sakura couldn't help but feel more insecure as she spoke; Kakashi sat and listened but Sakura could so clearly feel the emotional distance between them that she couldn't bring herself to tell him what was really bothering her.

Still he seemed to understand and as she finished off her ramble, she found her eyes averting to him she met his eyes but before she knew what, he'd slung his arms around her and squeezed her tight under his chin for a split second; he let go just as quickly and rose to his feet with a slight whisper of, 'don't worry, Sakura, they're dead and you're safely back within the walls of Konoha.'

It was only after he'd left that she realised that the only think he'd been wearing a pair of boxers and that he'd been completely naked from the waist up – so maskless.

From the glimpses she caught (the dim light being too low to catch detail) his face seemed pretty normal, which was probably why she didn't immediately react, but it did make her think: what must Kakashi's opinion be of either her or her current state, that he would forgo a mask to comfort her after a _nightmare?_

Sakura wasn't sure, but she did know that it took her until almost dawn to fall asleep again, but thankfully this time, her thoughts were filled with an oddly behaving Copy Nin rather than evil men against whom she'd sinned.

"Sakura! How delighted I am to see you! It has been far too long!" Sakura's head shot up to come face to face with the sparkly grin of the bizarre beast, just as she'd finished climbing down the stone wrought steps.

"Gai…It's been a while," Sakura – for the first time – found herself actually _tentative_ as she stood in front of the green beast,

"Indeed it has…I presume you've been away on a mission?"

"Yea…that's right," Sakura took another step down, right off the stair case and past Gai, hoping she just caught him about to run up them for training, but he didn't budge,

"You look thin," This wasn't a compliment. (Gai only gave compliments with regard to either the amount of 'gusto' with which one attacked a training session or if one surpassed a self-appointed target.)

He looked thoughtful, but his concern couldn't be completely hidden, "What has happened? It isn't like you to lose weight on a mission, no matter how long…and you look tired – usually, only the harshest training sessions are enough to fatigue you,"

Sakura couldn't help but lower her eyes off him and down to the floor, as she took another step, her body seemingly instinctively carrying her away so that she could avoid his questions. Gai didn't let her go, however, he fell into step next to her,

"Hmm, then was the mission a failure?" Gai's loyalty as a lover of challenges never waned,

"…No, quite the success," She could sense him look at her through the corner of his eye, although Sakura did her best to keep her head up straight and walk confidently, it was difficult with her body crying out for rest,

"Then do you feel as though _you_ failed, somehow?" Sakura couldn't help but involuntarily tense, he'd essentially found the heart of the problem although Sakura hadn't rationalised in that sense

"Hmm…" Gai continued on, his tone changing slightly from cautious questioning to is 'delighted storyteller' tone, "Do you remember, a few years back when you and your age-mates –as well as my team – were about to take the Chuunin exams for the first time?" Sakura nodded, unsure where Gai was going with this,

"My poor Lee suffered dreadful injuries in the preliminary round of the third test – using a move that I had specially instructed him in to use as his ultimate move. When I saw Lee give his all but was still defeated, I thought it had been enough – to give one's all is the best we can do; afterwards, whilst Lee was trying to recover – before Tsunade-sama had been returned to us, I thought it would only be a matter of time before we could continue to train and get ever stronger.

"But after Tsunade-sama had told Lee that if he had even a slim hope of continuing his life as a ninja, he must undergo a very risky surgery, which had roughly 50% of even his survival – let alone of it being a success at all for Lee to lead his desired path of life.

"This news crushed Lee, never before nor since have I seen him look so defeated; I searched for him for hours after he'd walked away from Tsunade-sama's preliminary exam. It was so unlike Lee to hide away and keep his problems to himself – when I eventually found him, he was worried that irrespective of all the hard work he'd done previously, he might still fail.

"Up to that point, Lee's nindo ['path of life' / personal 'way of the ninja'] had always been hard work – that there was nothing he could not accomplish if he worked hard enough for it – but to have that path ripped away from him at such a desperate time was, to him, I think, more painful than the prospect of death.

"We follow a path to give our lives meaning, Sakura, and when we are faced with the prospect that even our nindo might not be enough to get us through, that our life might be meaningless after all, is arguably the worst pain it's possible to feel… Eventually, I convinced Lee to take the surgery and he pulled through – becoming ever stronger after it,"

Gai beamed at this, "We will always face new challenges, even those which test our very reason for existence; we can find ourselves in pieces, our nindo crushed and we are left with only our faults and failures.

"But do not despair, Sakura, the only way to for our nindo to be worthy of calling our way of life and to follow it without hesitation, is if it can see us through even the harshest of tests and oppositions – your purpose in life can only be stronger if your nindo can glide through what would crush another..."

"But I…felt so…_weak_…" Sakura found herself saying before she could control it,

"Hmm…if you were truly weak, you would not have survived – you would not have been put anywhere near a situation which could cause you hurt. Sakura, I don't really know what happened, think about your path of life – what does it mean to you? Did you violate your meaning of life through what happened? These are all things you must consider, it isn't easy, but sometimes we must look at ourselves through someone else's eyes in order to see what is really there."

As Gai finished speaking, Sakura found herself stood outside her apartment block, her mind buzzing with what Gai had been saying,

"Gai…Thank you," She offered a small smile and received a huge sparkling grin and a 'thumbs up',

"Anytime; I hope that you will cheer up soon! Forlorn is not an expression you wear well!" She assumed this was supposed to be encouraging, "And let me know when you want to begin training again – I am already looking forward to it – eat well and stay positive!"

Gai cheered as Sakura offered another wave before disappearing into her apartment block and shakily began to climb; she really had walked for longer than she'd though throughout the day – and her mental fatigue wasn't helping much.

She managed to get up the first flight of stairs before she was forced to stop for a rest and Kakashi appeared in front of her – he didn't look impressed. He pulled one of her arms over his shoulder and slipped his own around her waist, before leaping up one of the flights in one,

"It was irresponsible of you to stay out so long that you nearly collapsed, what if it had been outside somewhere?" He leapt up the second flight and pushed open the door; she felt like saying, _well, forgive me for not wanting to return home and have yet another argument thrust upon me_, but he could argue even without her responses, apparently, not that it was worth it anyway – it would only escalate and he'd still find a way to win. 

_Why the hell couldn't Tsunade-sama have gotten Gai to help us? He's way cooler than this old man! Cha! Inner Sakura_ protested, shaking her fist in anger. He tugged off her boots and she took a step towards her bedroom, but Kakashi was quick to coil an arm around her waist and guide her there, too,

"Where did you go, anyway?" He asked again, his voice still irritated, but calmer than before, she merely shrugged half-heartedly in response; she sat on the edge of the bed and slowly, awkwardly lifted her legs up until she could lay flat, finally giving her body the rest it so craved,

"Can I get you anything?" His voice calmed right down again to its usual timber at the apparent realisation he wasn't going to get the argument he seemed to be craving,

"Just close the door on your way out," Was all she said, doing her best to feign the act of falling asleep, she waited until the door clicked closed and the tell-tale creak of the futon frame as he returned to his seat. Her eyes opened again and although Sakura was tired and wanted to sleep, she had some serious thinking to do.

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><p>Kakashi didn't sleep at all throughout the previous evening, he was far too worried about Sakura and angry with himself – which he'd managed to take out on her. She'd left so early the previous morning, he'd been in the shower at the time, expecting her to be half-way through a bowl of rice by the time he'd finished, but the apartment was empty, they'd suffered a minor argument the night before about her avoiding her friends.<p>

The first time, when he could feel Ino's chakra climb the stairs and Sakura had taken that moment to say she was planning on taking on long bath, (which was odd in itself as she'd almost always used showers) and so he was forced to tell her Sakura was busy.

The first blonde was worried and Kakashi conceded to giving Ino a quick low-down on her friend, who'd asked Kakashi to advise Sakura to meet her the next day for tea; only after the blonde had long left did Sakura re-emerge and similar things happened whenever Naruto appeared.

Kakashi found himself so irritated with Sakura's immature behaviour (believing that she wouldn't make much progress without letting them in) that he'd forgotten that it was the day of her briefing with Ibiki (which had been put off due to some lengthy meetings between the Hokage, councillors and ANBU heads over something or other).

When he'd eventually found her, hours later, he didn't immediately focus on where he was and instead started right on the topic which had been bothering him, before she'd have a chance to escape; it was only after she'd left that he took note of his surroundings and realised that she must just have come from the briefing.

He'd thought she looked pensive and slightly distressed, it was no wonder why…_now_.

He wanted to slap himself when he realised that he'd just turned up and arrogantly started an old argument about something which, to be honest, really _could_ have waited – for days if necessary – after Sakura had been forced to relive and regale her experiences to that sadist Ibiki, which she'd been trying to come to terms with over the past few days.

It was after that that he decide to leave her be, if she'd had a chance to go off and relax, then an apology from him was more likely to be accepted.

When it began to get late and he worried, his eye kept drifing out of the window to watch for her return and when he saw her walk with Gai – her shoulders relaxing as the Jounin spoke with serious but comfortable manner, Kakashi couldn't help his own bolt of irritation: wasn't _he_ supposed to be the one making her feel better?

He found himself enjoying their time together and yes, she could be a bit snappish occasionally, but she was quick to apologise and he could understand what prompted it; he hated how powerless he felt as Sakura seemed to be coasting, doing just enough to stop him worrying, but she wasn't really getting any better – and he hadn't the faintest idea what would help.

He'd felt her chakra swirl and ebb all afternoon and early evening, a dead giveaway of her tumultuous emotional state; she'd drifted to sleep after some hours and he set about cooking dinner, she couldn't be woken, however; normally a light sleeper but even after a few shakes of her shoulder, she was just as unresponsive.

His guilt only increasing, Kakashi had left to meet with Yamanaka Midori, from whom he took a delivery of flowers each year when it came to replanting his garden; he used a henge and supressed his chakra, they'd long ago made an arrangement for the transaction of such large order and for bedding plants, which the shop usually didn't stock, once a year.

She gave him a good deal and they'd agreed to have them delivered to the usual place, at the edges of one of the old training fields, not too far from the major southern path out of Konoha.

Kakashi had been there in his henge to take the delivery and check it early that morning and was just on his way back to the apartment to collect Sakura (he hoped she'd be there and just about finished with the shower).

He opened the apartment door and slipped his sandals off before pouring himself a cup of tea and taking a seat at her rickety kitchen table; the rice cooker was humming away and he hoped Sakura would be in an agreeable mood this morning.

The shower was shut off and a few minutes later, she reappeared pulling her hair out of a loose bun as she was dressed in her typical shinobi gear, she paused as she set eyes on him but smoothly recovered before walking over to the rice cooker to switch it off.

"Sakura, I owe you an apology…no, thanks," He politely refused as she held up a small bowl, asking a silent question as to whether he wanted any rice, she dished herself out some and took a seat at the table, pouring out a cup of tea from the strongly brewed pot in the centre of the table,

"I was completely out of line yesterday…I wasn't thinking and I just wanted to get off my chest what was bothering me without thinking about your situation. If you really can't bring yourself to face Ino or Naruto, then it isn't my place to second guess you, gomen nasai," Kakashi bowed his head slightly towards her, she was eyeing him curiously as he raised it again,

"It's…alright, I know I can't avoid them forever but…I just don't want to deal with all of the stress they'll bring with them,"

"Hmm, I can understand that…and if you want me to clear off while you talk to them, you only need to say,"

"I know…thank you," He smiled lightly again, before taking a lightning fast sip of tea,

"I was hoping you could help me again today…it's about time for the beds to be replanted, I've got a hold of all the flowers and I wouldn't mind an extra pair of hands."

She smiled herself, before nodding in agreement.

..

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><p>Just a thing about the title, when Lee is told about his operation and he and Gai discuss it (just after the Chuunin exam arc) in Part I of <em>Naruto<em>, Gai says something along the lines of "…once we lose our nindo, we're such fools that we can't live on," As a comfort to Lee, hence this chapter title is sort of along those lines, but not as good lol *^.^*


	26. Chapter 26

Sorry this has taken a while (busy week and will only get worse from here on out. [Exams: Y u no leave me alone?-!]) and I'm still not really happy with this chapter, as it unfortunately falls into the 'filler' category; however, it *will* get more exciting (as you will read), so I'm going to have to ask you bear with me.

Partially as relationship dymanics take time to change (lol if you haven't already guessed with my general pacing of stories ahah) and as I need time to allow Sakura to get herself out of the rut, so to speak! But it won't take ages (i.e. another chapter or so)! Still, hope you like this chapter for what it is and apologies that it is less exciting than its predecessors! Thank you! ^-^

..

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 26: Lifeblood_

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><p>Sakura had given him a strange look when he led her to where the tiny flowers waiting to be planted, he brushed her off slightly, choosing not to let her in on his somewhat clandestine-like agreements with Yamanaka Flowers. Kakashi subsequently made two clones, as did Sakura – who immediately told him, firmly, that her chakra was back up to full and it was her physical strength which was her currently limit, so that he couldn't begin hen-pecking.<p>

Not wanting to have any more arguments, he let it go and they carried off nearly all the plants in one. Kakashi handed her a trowel and a small patch of Styrofoam, he dragged out of nowhere, for her to kneel on whilst she worked; he was pulling off his gloves and flak jacket and hanging them over a tree branch as he asked if she needed anything else.

She didn't and turned to focus on the mass of green little globs of plants; most were tiny little things and it made her wonder how they could possibly grow into such triffid-like proportions in only a few short months.

As Sakura settled into the task, hearing only the slight rasp of Kakashi's trowel from the opposite side of the garden, she focussed on digging out a little upside-down pyramid of earth, snapping apart the small synthetic container, which held the plants for transport, and tucking it into the small furrow before returning the soil she'd removed back around the plant to pack it in securely.

It was strangely satisfying to feel the rich, smooth earth between her fingers as she added a handful of compost to each trough before introducing the plant – she became engrossed quickly; her hands working almost without the need for instruction whilst her mind drifted back to the conclusions she managed to draw before falling asleep the evening previous.

As she ran her mind back over what Gai had been saying to her as she paced about her room, she slowly came to the awareness that of all things that had happened on that mission, of the things that had been done to her and how she felt, she _hadn't_ violated her nindo.

For Sakura – especially as a ninja – her primary purpose in life was to protect Konoha and all of its citizens, including her fellow shinobi. Once she had been captured, she brought precious information dangerously close to enemy hands and could well have betrayed the very village she'd devoted her life protecting; but she _hadn't cracked_.

She said _nothing_ to those men – they hadn't learning a thing for their trouble and Sakura had succeeded in protecting Konoha under far more painful and personal circumstances than the average mission.

They'd done their best to dislodge her sense of reality – by trying to tell her that she wasn't strong, relied upon as a _woman_ rather than as a _shinobi_ – and that as a woman she was weak and worthless but she'd been stronger than them.

Ratsuroto had been killed – by her – for his stupidity, and above it all, she hadn't uttered one word.

She was lucky, of course, that Kakashi and his team had arrived in time and that Ratsuroto was as moronic as he was (and that the smarter learder had already been killed by Inoichi and Shikaku), but still, Sakura had faltered in letting herself get captured, but she hadn't fallen by letting anything slip.

As soon as Sakura had realised this, during the early evening previous, it felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders and her relief was palpable – for the first night in well over a week, she had managed to find restful sleep.

Returning her attention to the plants in front of her, Sakura wondered what colours the flowers she planting would turn out to be, she nearly finished with one section of the bed and as she fitted the last plant into its little furrow, she rose to her feet.

"Done already?" She tuned to find Kakashi's drawing a lazy eye over the bed, now dotted with tens of miniature green shoots;

"Yea…did you say you wanted these trays to be planted here?" She gestured between the remaining trays of plants and the final, square bed at the back of the garden,

"Please," She nodded and turned to her work, time had flown by and she wasn't even sure how long she'd been working, but such tasks were pleasing and gave her much needed direction; just as her mind turned to how much more relaxed she felt, Kakashi drew her attention to him.

"I saw Gai walking you back yesterday…what were you talking about?" Sakura turned her head to look at him, seeing that he was still hunched over the border tending to the young plants,

"I…sort of ran into him whilst I was walking, he noticed that I looked…a bit different," Kakashi had to forcibly resist the urge to snort at her comment,

"Just a 'bit'?" She frowned at his rejoinder but carried on regardless,

"I didn't really need to say anything for him to seem to understand…he told about Lee – way back when we had just attempted the Chuunin exam for the first time and Lee was seriously injured." Kakashi knew all about this, he'd spend many an-evening listening to a drunken Gai agonize over his student's future, "Gai was talking about how Lee's pain was more to do with the fact that he'd lost his path in life at that there was nothing he could do about it,"

Sakura found herself falling silent for a few moments, as she deposited another little plant into the furrow, she could hear Kakashi step towards her but she didn't turn around, "I think Gai saw through me – somehow – and what my problem was,"

"Oh?" He tried to sound nonchalant but Kakashi, on the inside, was wondering how in the _hell_ Gai could understand her so well from one, brief conversation, when Kakashi had been _living_ with the woman for a week and was nowhere near as close?

"Yea…" Sakura purposefully didn't say anymore, hearing in his tone of voice how curious he was, although desperately trying to supress it – for some reason, one thing Kakashi did _not_ like expressing how curious he was.

Kakashi, meanwhile, had to resist the urge to spin around and shake the answer out of her, feeling as though he were going to explode from his inquisitiveness; he didn't take long to crack,

"…And?" Sakura was glad her back was turned for she couldn't help but burst out into a grin, _there it was_,

"I guess that I discovered that – among other things – I felt as though I'd somehow lost my nindo on that mission…as though no matter what I thought about myself or my life, it had been ripped away and thus became meaningless," She paused again, having finished planting the border; she turned to the central circle, Kakashi was currently working on and began planting in the next 'third' which had been rough drawn in the earth.

"And you figured out that…"

"That in a sense I didn't violate my way of life – even though I got captured, it was just another test of myself and, in a sense, I passed," She'd just finished pressing another plant into the earth, looking up she found Kakashi staring at her but his expression strangely unreadable – even though over the past few days and months she'd gotten better at understanding him. "What?"

"I don't understand – what was it a test of?" His voice was strangely sombre, as though wondering what sort of twisted test could be so easily discussed,

"I…" She thought for a moment, allowing her gaze to drink in the garden, as life slowly returned to it; her eyes finally fell to rest on the statue of two hands forming the seal, "…I suppose I considered my nindo to be that I exist to serve and protect Konoha and that my honour as a _shinobi_ is that I'm needed, and so serve, my village," He watched as she turned her attention from the statue back to the plants in front of her, and trowelling another depression,

"I thought I'd failed in that because I was captured, but that wasn't the case…I passed because I didn't talk – they found nothing out about Konoha and so couldn't endanger it and I even gave my teammates time to escape and put all of the information collected to good use." Somehow, she found herself unable to meet his eye and she continued to pluck another flower out of the tray and squash it into a trough,

"There's something else, isn't there?" He always was a perceptive bastard – but the unhelpful, annoying antithesis to Gai,

"…" Sakura chose to keep quiet, not ready to tell Kakashi the reason, still feeling that it was just a bit too personal for their, occasionally rocky, relationship,

"_Sakura,_" His tone was commanding and absolutely no-nonsense;

"Hmm, _sensei?_" She countered, finally looking at him as she cocked her head to the side, the picture of innocence; Kakashi expression immediately fell, betraying how unimpressed he was,

"…Never mind," Sakura bit her lip to prevent the whacky grin from appearing on her face at how easy he was annoy – who's have thought it, the usually ever-nonchalant and unreadable Hatake Kakashi?

Sakura nearly burst out laughing at the thought but quickly got a grip on herself; they finished planting quickly and in an amiable silence. As soon as they finished, Kakashi set about watering in all of the fresh plants after clearing away the empty trays and various other accoutrements,

"Before we go, we need to set up the fences,"

"Eh?" He dragged out a few wooden panels which were about four and a half feet in height, he set them out and some camouflage netting as well; they set about constructing a small fence, topped with the netting to ensure that no late night visitors could wander in and dig up all of their hard work. As a last resort, Kakashi added a bit of chakra to the netting as a strengthening measure, it wasn't a lot, but just enough that an animal couldn't break in and dig up their hard work.

They rinsed their hands under a large drum, which was primarily used for collecting rain water, before Kakashi picked up his gloves and jacket before they wandered away. He slowly slipped it over his shoulders and zipped it up before stuffing his gloves into his pockets along with his still slightly damp hands, beginning to chill in the mid-afternoon air,

"Thanks for your help, Sakura,"

"No problem…I have to admit, there's something relaxing about gardening…as weird as it sounds," He chuckled slightly,

"I've always thought that, too," They lowered their chakra and slipped back into Konoha, landing back down on one of the side streets in the blink of an eye before heading back towards the centre, "I was thinking, do you fancy getting something to eat at the shushuya?"

"Yea, that sounds good," They arrived swiftly as they chatted about the garden – in somewhat more obscure terms as they walked past people, he was half-way through explaining what state the garden was in when he first decided to resurrect it as they arrived at the shushuya.

It being still the afternoon, it was relatively empty which Sakura sensed was appreciated by both she and Kakashi, she immediately disappeared off to wash her hands properly, by the time she returned, Kakashi was nowhere in sight (presumably still washing his own hands).

Taking the opportunity to order some sake (which he would probably object to) she walked up to the bar and quickly claimed a medium decanter and two cups, she slipped into a seat just as Kakashi reappeared. He slid into the opposite side of the booth, eyeing the bottle whilst she poured out two cups, not really caring too much for etiquette as she raised the cup to her lips and sipped.

"Aah!" She relaxed back into her seat, ignoring the raised eyebrow from her silver-haired companion, "There's nothing like warm sake in the afternoon," She immediately poured another cup but let it rest,

"Take it easy on the sake, Sakura,"

"Don't worry," She waved her hand dismissively, noticing that his cup was also miraculously empty, "What were you saying about your garden, again?" She sipped from her cup as he too shifted to lean his back to the wall, so he was sat near parallel to the table,

"Hmm? Oh I was just saying about the state of the garden when I decided to take it on; I'd forgotten about the statue and didn't notice it until I'd cleared away all of the brambles…" Sakura couldn't quite contain her surprise, muttering to herself,

"I _knew_ there must have been something weird in the soil to make the plants grow so mammoth!"

"What?"

"Nothing…when did you first take it on?" Kakashi poured them both another cup,

"Hmm, I suppose I must have been about seventeen or eighteen when I began to work on it, although I'd visited it occasionally for a few years before hand, trying to decide what I wanted to do with it." Sakura frowned slightly as she lifted the cup to her lips, well aware he was telling, at best, half the story; before either could say another word, a waitress appeared at the table,

"Would you like to order anything to eat?" Sakura finally took her attention off Kakashi and down to the menu on the table beneath her arm, scanning over it quickly, she ordered some fried chicken with seaweed and egg rice and a shiitake mushroom, Kakashi ordered a sushi platter with miso soup and rice; the waitress disappeared again.

Sakura averted her eyes back to the small, half-empty cup in front of her, nothing on the tip of her tongue she felt able to say. Kakashi had spoken a lot in the past week they'd been living together and in a sense, she thought it truly bizarre that Kakashi was so much less smooth with conversation than Gai – even just the thought brought with it a bolt of confusion.

She found herself quite enjoying listening to Kakashi, not only did he seem content to recite without constantly asking questions or forcing her to speak, but she found his voice itself, relaxing to listen to. That 'laziness' he liked to allow to seep into everything he did (unless murderously serious) was of course, a false pretence; Kakashi was constantly on guard and aware of nearly all around him – what better way than to catch an enemy unguarded than to allow them to underestimate you?

But Kakashi seemed to relax when it was just the two of them, he seemed to enjoy regaling her with random stories – she suspected he'd never told anyone else (or at the very least, remarkably few people) and hence, he had more difficulty in 'cutting out', so to speak, the parts didn't want to her to know about – hence the obvious (and rather suspicious) gaps.

She found herself slowly growing comfortable with the man – in the sense that it was easy to act friendly when there was a safe emotional distance between – say, during a training session - but now that the typical barriers betwen them had been removed, it was easier to see him as just a man instead of the symbol of power he seemed to embody.

Even so, if having Kakashi actually _live_ with her took a long time to get used to and _his change in behaviour_ unprecedented – then the fact that he seemed to adapt to their cohabitation faster than she did was down-right insurmountable. Still, she _had_ learned to live with him and found herself used to him – and their occasional (two if today and tonight were to be counted) discussions.

If Gai was the best-friend-slash-brotherly-figure she could, quite literally, trust with anything if she wanted to, then Kakashi was more of a wild-card, one she wasn't sure how to properly categorise; she didn't trust him as much as Gai – or would even feel compelled to say that she _knew_ him as well, but somehow, he waltzed his way into her life and made himself at ease.

Even the idea of Kakashi relaxing, that is, dropping his guard, seemed laughable and yet, Sakura couldn't deny that their interaction was the not the fiery battle of wits it had been in their earlier exchanges.

Perhaps the best way to describe it was that Kakashi seemed to finally see her as an adult or at least an equal - not either a child needing pandering to, or as a significantly less skilled (and thus undeserving of real respect) subordinate.

The thought itself made Sakura smile lightly – apparently Kakashi was not quite as hard-headed and arrogantly stubborn as she'd oft assumed him to be; her smile turned more wry as she thought about how the man seemed to fade into more focus and colour, the closer one got to him.

"What's on your mind?" She averted her eyes back up to his, the smile leaving her face altogether as she desperately searched for something to quickly make up, uncomfortable with telling him exactly what she'd been thinking,

"…Uh, I was…thinking about a name for my space-time jutsu…" She could see his eye narrow slightly, obviously not buying her claim,

"Oh, really?"

"Uh, yea…as you said I really should think of a name for it…"

"Sakura…"

"Its…nothing to do with…_that_, if that's what you thinking," She spoke quickly, feeling partially annoyed that he'd seen through her so easily, she sipped from her cup without finishing it. Sakura noted that he seemed to relax, marginally, at her words; before he could form a rejoinder, however, the waitress reappeared with their food,

"Thank you, may we also have another medium sized bottle of warm sake, please?" The waitress nodded as Kakashi warned,

"Sakura…"

"Don't worry dear, I won't force you to drink any," The waitress smirked slightly as she walked away and Kakashi's frown deepened. Banter was safe – it didn't mean anything and was very diverting, especially between two members of the opposite sex, irrespective of their relationship,

"I wasn't worried about that, but I'd rather not have to carry you home," He plucked a pair of chopsticks up as he spoke; Sakura already snapping her pair apart,

"Am I too heavy for you?" Kakashi snorted lightly,

"Please, I've met sacks of rice heavier than you – especially now – but-"

"Kakashi, I have a very high tolerance for alcohol _and_ I'm eating, we've already shared the first bottle and a full one of these, is nowhere near enough to get me drunk, I promise I'll be fine," She offered a small, reassuring smile before dipping her head to pluck a slice of chicken up and devour it, politely keeping her head tilted at such an angle, Kakashi would feel comfortable eating.

They'd managed a routine where they could ostensibly eat together – and it told Sakura a lot about how much Kakashi had apparently come to trust her on a personal level that he was happy to pull his mask down with her in such close proximity (well, that and welcoming her into his garden, too).

Sakura managed about half of her meal before she began to feel full, she paused to pour herself out another cup of sake for herself and leaned back in her seat, holding the cup; Kakashi had already finished his meal and was eyeing her carefully,

"I want you to be able to finish at least half of what's left," He gestured to her plate, Sakura shook her head slightly,

"I don't think I can," She took a minute sip of sake,

"You must, you been consistently eating far too little-"

"Taichou! Sakura-taichou!" A very familiar voice cut right across Kakashi as both shinobi noted the three newcomers stood at the end of the table, all looking fairly shocked; Taiki, was stood with his eyes near sparkling in happiness,

"Taichou! We missed you! Our mission took so long! When did you get back from yours?" Taiki and Akihiko slid into the seat next to Sakura, leaving Raiden to take the empty one next to Kakashi.

"I got back about a week ago…" She absently fiddled with one of the cuts of chicken, suddenly feeling rather uncomfortable with her subordinate's string of questions,

"Great! Then we can train tomorrow, right? I never thought I'd say this, but you're so nice and kind to us, captain," Sakura smiled lightly and opened her mouth to respond but Kakashi got there first,

"Sakura, you agreed to attend the meetings tomorrow, remember?"

"…Oh, yea…sorry guys but I'm busy tomorrow, but I'll let you know as soon as I'm free, alright?" Taiki's expression fell,

"Aww, Sakura!" He pouted slightly as Raiden rolled his eyes.

"She's right, Taiki, you guys need rest or you'll be crying within half an hour of training…a few days rest would be ideal,"

"What? I seem to recall that _I_ have the best stamina on the team," Akihiko smirked arrogantly, Sakura rolled her eyes, and leaned back on the table resting her cheek on her fist as her team began to squabble,

"Alright…since you're the fittest Akihiko, why don't you go and get the sake?" Taiki burst out laughing and Raiden cracked a smile at Sakura's rhetorical question and said nin grumbled as he rose to his feet, stalking off; Raiden piped up,

"Hey, Taiki why do you go and get us some snacks?

"Why should I have to?"

"Or I'll tell captain what you did on the mission!" Taiki grumbled fiercely under his breath but nonetheless rose to his feet, "I want ebi senbei [essentially prawn crackers] and bōkun habanero [spicy potato rings]!"

"Fine, fine…anything else?" Taiki looked between Sakura and Kakashi, both of whom shook their heads as a negative; as soon as Taiki was out of ear shot, Raiden leaned forward again, looking mildly concerned,

"Captain…are you…alright? You look a bit…on edge," Sakura forced her expression to remain neutral as she nodded slightly,

"Yes, I'm fine," Raiden didn't look convinced, but nodded anyway, knowing better than to second guess her. Taiki and Akihiko returned, their hands occupied with either a few bowls of snacks or sake,

"Hey, captain, I guess you'll be entering the tournament, too, right?"

"What? What tournament?"

"Oh! You haven't heard? There's a tournament being held in about a month's time – just over, I think – for all of the Jounin level and above shinobi! It's open for all the shinobi nations and it's going to be the most diverse and open tournament that any of the nations have ever hosted! You can enter one or all of the tournaments – there are separate ones for each nin, tai, genjutsu as well as weapons and other accessories users, puppetry, wires, explosives, ninja animals." Taiki paused to pour himself out a cup of sake as Akihiko took over,

"Yea, Tsunade-sama said that all of the competitions will be staggered so, say, the taijutsu competition will take place the week before the ninjutsu one – so no village will be left unguarded and that you can enter as many or as few competitions as you like.

"They've also been specially graded, so one could enter the genjutsu specialist or enter the _sākuru no kadai_ or circle challenges where you have to complete a tai, gen then ninjutsu round to claim overall winner…it's up to you really, what competitions you want to enter. Each of the competitions will be held by a single nation, so as to balance it all out," Sakura found herself captivated, this competition sounded _incredible_,

"It starts one month from now, with the weapons and shinobi accessories competitions, to be held in Lightening," Sakura couldn't quite keep the smile from her face, she knew exactly what her next meeting with Tsunade-sama would be about, "I think Tsunade-sama said she'll call a general meeting for all of the Tokabetsu and normal Jounin as well as ANBU in about two weeks' time to organise who'll be participating when so that she can organise how the village will be protected in the absences created,"

Her subordinates descended into chatter about what competitions they'd be entering as Sakura stopped listening to consider the implications of the tournament – it sounded amazing and a perfect means to really drive her to perfect her jutsu and to get herself back up to full strength; she couldn't help but wonder who she'd be able to fight – maybe she'd finally get the opportunity to fight Naruto at full strength? She damn well hoped so.

It didn't seem too long before Sakura kept stifling yawns and knew it was time for her to at least retire to her apartment, a hot pot of tea would be supremely welcome right about now. Sakura drew attention to herself,

"Well, I think I'm going to head off now, I've got an early start tomorrow," Akihiko and Taiki grumbled slightly but moved out of her way nonetheless, Kakashi urged Raiden to move as he too made a comment about needing to sleep, Sakura received an odd look for the both of them leaving together, but she pretended not to notice,

"Well, I'll catch up with you guys soon, rest up, we'll be training hard for this tournament!"

"Of course! It's good to have you back, captain!" Akihiko grinned, and mock-saluted her, she returned the smile as the boys exclaimed their delighted agreement; she waved goodbye to them and turned to find Kakashi gone. Looking around slightly as she walked away, she found him walking away from the bar and back towards her, her confusion must have shown on her face,

"Paying the bill,"

"Do you want half?" He shook his head,

"Nah, it's okay," The stepped out into the mid-evening air, and ambled slowly back towards her apartment,

"Were you aware of this tournament?"

"Not really, but then I haven't been all that active this week, I'm looking forward to hearing more though," Sakura nodded her agreement,

"I wonder how Tsunade-sama will organise the missions…or, if necessary, how she'll allocate those allowed to participate,"

"Hmm…considering the scope of what's possible to enter, by the sound of it, she'll probably make those wanting to enter more than one competition choose their preference." She nodded in agreement as they rounded a corner, the night air cool and pleasing on her skin after being in the warm building and having bodies surround her, "Well, with this tournament, you'll _have_ to think up a name for your jutsu…any ideas, so far?" She could easily hear the teasing tone to his voice,

"Hmm… I thought of a few here and there…" She deliberately paused, unable to continue the game of strengths, Kakashi said nothing but he didn't need to, she had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from smiling, as Kakashi eyed her, he sighed heavily, knowing the woman was as stubborn as he,

"…_And_?" The smile finally broke out into a triumphantly mischievous grin; it was almost unsettling to Kakashi, for the fact she could manipulate him so,

"How about…Ichiji-tekina sakakku no jutsu?"

"The transient illusion?" He asked rhetorically, taking a moment to consider it purely for effect, throwing in a politely disapproving noise just to irritate her – which worked spectacularly – as he had to hide his own grin at her slightly childish frown,

"I think it sounds…a lot better than 'my space-time jutsu'," She growled in annoyance at this as she placed both hands on her hips, a classic sign of irritation for the kuniochi,

"Hmm…well I guess I should have known better than to ask the advice of someone…like _you_," Kakashi knew that she knew he would be itching to ask her what she meant precisely by a comment like that, but he also didn't want to give her the satisfaction of actually giving in and asking. In the end, he settled for a non-committal yet indecipherable:

"Hmm," Still, the air remained amiable, both knowing they were only joking, even so the continued the rest of the walk in silence, Sakura averting her eyes up to the sky to observe the few visible stars, thinking that it really was time to meet with both Naruto and Ino – the weight lifted from her chest after talking with Gai, made the prospect of doing so seem immensely less daunting.

"I'm…really glad that Gai was able to help you…and I'm sorry for not really being able to do so, even though it was essentially something Tsunade-sama assigned me to do," She sifted her eyes over to him, seeing him still looking ahead, but the slight tenseness in his shoulders was clearly visible,

"Hmm…Gai is strangely perceptive, even if I try to hide he always seems to be able to see right through me, but at the same time, unlike most people I've met, he's always been eager to help, listen and offer his advice or opinion in a way completely un-patronising but most definitely comforting, in an adult sort of way, if you know what I mean," He did; Gai knew how to treat an adult like an adult and speak to them in those terms, rather than assuming them to still be a child because that's how he'd met them initially,

"Somehow, I always want to try and hide from him, but he catches me anyway – and really helps a lot. But don't sell yourself short, in many ways, you're still ostensibly a stranger to me and I wouldn't feel comfortable talking to you in the way I do Gai, although that's not mean to be a detriment to your efforts…

"You have been a help though, working in the garden definitely made me feel better – it's very relaxing to do that sort of directed, yet easy work…and your surprisingly delightful cooking certainly hasn't gone unappreciated,"

She grinned, more to herself as she wasn't looking at him, but he saw nonetheless and couldn't resist returning it with his own, "…Thank you for…taking the time stay with me, even if it was under Tsunade-sama's orders, I know I haven't generally been in the best mood over this week," She looked apologetic, finally meeting his eye as he smiled again, a broad, genuine grin,

"It's alright, you've nothing to apologise for," He wasn't sure how to say that he had actually become very comfortable living with her and that he'd surprised himself at how much (he'd recently realised) liked talking to her, so he sufficed with that simple sentence, knowing she'd naturally read between lines.


	27. Chapter 27

Apologies for delay – it's been a crazy, crazy past few weeks!

Btw, just to explain a discrepancy you might notice: I mention in places here some competitions held within the shinobi village and others just 'in' the country somewhere, I'm going to leave it at random and say the host countries can decide exactly where they wish to host the tournament! Also, if you have thoughts about those _not_ participating, I'll try and get around to explaining in later chapters where appropriate.

..

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 27: The Swan Upon The Water May Seem Serene_

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><p>Kakashi ambled slowly down one of the main streets of Konoha; most of which were insanely busy with numerous civilians milling around due to the hosting of the ninjutsu specialist competition. It had been an extremely long two months filled with extensive and exhaustive training interspersed with the occasional mission; Kakashi really couldn't be any more prepared for the challenge in just over a week's time.<p>

He'd enjoyed the copious amounts of sparring he'd done with Sakura as well as the occasional meal or drink after; their relationship was smooth and much as it had been for most of the past year (notwithstanding the gaps due to missions or their occasional arguments after Sakura's capture). She'd healed fairly swiftly after her realisation and Kakashi hadn't long stayed with her after (elated she had recovered so well although strangely loath to leave) they saw each other almost as much.

She trained extensively with her team, particularly Raiden, who never seemed to be far from her and he felt as though he were nearly competing for Sakura's attention with him.

Granted, Kakashi never felt anything like the sort of jealous possessiveness he'd expect from Raiden, if he thought he felt anything like _that_ for her, it was more that whenever Kakashi sought Sakura out at random to spar with her, Raiden wouldn't be far away – only three exceptions counted when Gai returned from the taijutsu only challenge (with Lee) and she and the Green Beast again began to spar together.

Kakashi dodged a large group of civilians all chatting with each other instead of minding where they were going, the sudden influx were from the surrounding towns to Konoha whose civilian population always liked to take advantage of public shinobi fights.

To the smaller towns like Tanzaku or Otafuku Gai, shinobi were still something of a tantalising mystery – apparently a sort of dangerous thrill they couldn't resist (when in a safe and pre-organised setting, of course) – Kakashi didn't mind too much, the flood was good for Konoha's economy and he always did like it when the hidden village was abuzz with excitement and anticipation.

The first round of ninjutsu challenges had been held during the day, because of the volume of participants had been so high, it had been decided to hold a set of preliminary matches to weed out the weakest and cut the numbers down so that the challenge would end on schedule.

They were fierce sudden-death rounds where the first shinobi to trap his partner in such a position that their next move (which couldn't be countered by the other) could be a lethal blow, would win the round and move on.

Of course, due to the exceptional skill level involved some of the fights when on for a long time; Kakashi had done as asked and carefully observed throughout the day, watching both the crowds and the participants.

It wasn't easy, though, to watch a sea of faces for one in particular who might look a little suspicious, so he took the opportunity to brush up on his basic and rarely used skills of the henge or occasional subtle genjutsu to weave his way, slowly, through the crowds looking for anything he particularly didn't like.

He rounded the final corner to get back to his apartment, the evening already dark although the streets still humming with excited spectators, waiting for the real rounds to begin tomorrow.

(Kakashi had allowed an especially smug smile to reach his lips as he noted that all of the Leaf participants had passed the initial stage; with ease, too.)

He'd liaise with Sakura and Gai tomorrow and see if either of them had spotted anything; his mind drifted back to the meeting with the Hokage about the ninjutsu and circle rounds he'd attended nigh on a month ago.

_"Alright, since all of you are participating in either the circle or ninjutsu challenges, which will have the highest number of participants overall, you'll need to be on especially high guard. Although Kakashi is the only known current holder of the sharingan – and therefore the ability to directly copy a jutsu – that we know of, it doesn't mean that there aren't other methods out there. _

_"Likewise, one doesn't necessarily need the sharingan to observe and create a counter to a jutsu; I want you all to consider this like warfare – if you show off your best moves early, then the higher the chance that they'll be countered and become ineffective." _

_Tsunade paused to look over the group gathered in her room; she was reluctant to allow some of them to participate, wanting to keep their skills hidden – just in case the worst should happen from the tournament, but she couldn't find good reason and so would have to trust that her shinobi would use discretion. _

_"Which of you are not participating in the circle rounds, but will be participating in the ninjutsu specialist challenge?" Hinata, Neji, Shino, Chouji, Aoba, Izumo, Naruto, Taiki and Akihiko all stepped forward, as well as three other shinobi Sakura couldn't name. Tsunade nodded, looking over them carefully as well as those who remained back, those being Yamato, Kakashi, Raiden, Kurenai, Ino and Sakura;_

_"For those of you participating in the circle challenges, you will have to be significantly more careful in how much of your skills you chose to display– of course the winner will be a one of you," Her eyes narrowed slightly at this, telling the participants that it wasn't a request, _

_"But I don't want you to give the other shinobi nations any further advantage, I want you to be thinking tactically at all times. For those of you participating in the circle rounds especially, I want you to keep your eyes open for anyone suspicious during the ninjutsu specialists; _

_"I'll have ANBU and some of the other Jounins keeping their eyes open, but since you'll more than likely be around, I want you six especially to keep your eyes peeled," She gestured to the circle challengers, all of whom nodded sharply in affirmation._

_"However, I'm not too worried, since there are quite a few ANBU who've declined participation as well as a number of the other Jounin…but you must still be on guard for suspicious behaviour – keep an eye out for those who appear to be watching just a little too closely," A few nods of acknowledgement were all she needed,_

_"Anyway, the competition as a whole begins with the weapons and accessory specialists in Lightening tomorrow; I understand that TenTen and Hagane Kotetsu will be participating. Then, it will move onto the jutsu users who specialize with animal familiars, then taijutsu, medics round – in which Shizune will be competing, in Yu no Kuni [Hot Springs Country], genjutsu, ninjutsu and the circle rounds will occur last, in just over a month's time. _

_"There are a few other minor competitions but since none of our shinobi are participating, they need not be mentioned here. Wind will be hosting the circle rounds and Fire will hold the ninjutsu only ones," Tsunade sighed lightly as she looked over a few further documents, _

_"I will have further instructions for you a little closer to the time, but for now you are all still on active duty, but if I can find a replacement to join a mission in your stead, I will do so…is there anything else?" After a slight pause, there was a resounding, _

_"No, Hokage-sama," She nodded and dismissed them with a wave of her hand; they all filed slowly out of the door, most of their voices flittering in quiet speculation._

Kakashi sighed heavily as he finally made it back to his apartment, closing his door on the busy world outside and slipping off his sandals, haitai-ate and flak jacket; he flipped the kettle on for tea as he pulled off his gloves and washed his hands free of the day's grime.

He set about organising what he wanted for dinner and pulled out the ingredients, but decided he'd leave it an hour before he began; his mind drifted over some of the participants, many of whom really knew how to fight in swift, close quarters.

It'd been a while since Kakashi had fought another shinobi from one of the five great nations – most of the market for shinobi battles these days had been from mercenaries or crime organisations who'd gotten their hands on wandering shinobi.

Kakashi was looking forward to seeing the level of rounded skills by each prospective nation; especially in the unforgiving climate of Wind country.

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><p>Sakura refrained from allowing the smile to appear on her face even though she wanted to, as she meandered back to her apartment from the bar, having had a drink with Lee and Gai. Although they'd been back for a while, they hadn't had the chance to meet up (except for the occasional spar, which were intense affairs and left little time for chatting) and so they'd agreed to do so tonight by meeting over a pot of tea (they were on observation duty the next day, after all).<p>

She had missed Gai, he been away for over a week and it was strange not to see him in Konoha; the Green Beast was positively delighted that Lee claimed first place in the taijutsu competition (himself claiming fifth place, which he was so disappointed with that he climbed the tallest tree in and around Konoha using only the backs of his hands (and some chakra) eighty times).

Sakura congratulated them both and was – in honesty – proud of them, Gai and Lee never ceased to be a source of inspiration to her in both their determination and achievements.

Lee had happily regaled his stories of some of his fights where he seriously thought he would lose; her favourite story, Sakura decided, was the one where Lee had to fight a man over a foot taller than him and nearly twice as wide. Lee, although enormously strong, was built for speed and agility and hence his figure remained fairly slight – albeit highly deceiving – whereas Gai was more of a hard-hitter and took brute strength over the nimble sprightliness Lee possessed.

They drank for a few hours, and talked about all that had happened in their absence – which wasn't much, apart from the villages' preparation for the ninjutsu challenge.

She told them about how her team – one half of which was participating in the ninjutsu-only challenge, and herself and Raiden, the circle rounds – were training extensively in preparation; she was proud of them and their obvious determination to make a real impact on the tournaments.

As Sakura left, she wondered about her team – two of which had serious fights to win the next day, although they'd done well during the initial preliminary stages.

"Hey! Sakura-chan!"

"Hmm? Naruto?" Sakura turned back just to see the blonde jogging up to her; they'd spoken a little over the past month and were on fairly good terms although Sakura couldn't say she went out of her way to meet up with him,

"Hey, did you see the fights today?"

"Yea, I did,"

"There were some really strong fighters – the guy I was fighting, he had really good taijutsu, like Gejimayu's! I'll really have to watch out, one guy nearly caught me with this chakra scalpel thing that was made of fire,"

"How'd you escape it?" Sakura caught his blue eyes looking down to her slightly, brimming with mischievousness,

"Well, wind maybe inferior to fire, but he wasn't able to defend against my Naruto rendan!" Sakura allowed a wry smile to grace her lips,

"Nice one, Naruto… Still the number one at surprise, huh?" Said shinobi placed his hands on his hips and grinned broadly as he looked back at her – the years had been kind to him (physically, at least) and he was handsome, his hair was longer and he was taller, a good few inches on Sakura now.

It was easy, now, to remember what she loved about Naruto and how his endless optimism used to keep her going through even their darkest Sasuke-hunting days…and just why it cut so deeply when he left without word.

"Yea… it was kinda sad to see that there was no Hachibi jinchuuriki – I really miss Octo-dude, and I guess that the new host hasn't managed to connect with the beast yet, or he'd be here…"

"Aah," Yes, Sakura remembered those final days of the war which claimed Killer B's life – unfortunately, he had been the only one to connect with and control the Hachibi, and apparently, none since have been able to. "It's possible that they'll be taking part in the circle challenges,"

"They're being held during next week aren't they?"

"That's right…we leave for Suna in about two days,"

"Mou, I wish I was going…I'd like to see Gaara again," Sakura nodded, having forgotten about Naruto's kinship with the Kazekage, and of the blonde's ability to change the subject,

"Aah, he invited use to stay with him the night before we begin the competition, I'll say 'hi' to him, if you like,"

"Yea! Please do!" She nodded again signifying her acknowledgement as she looked back up to her once, long ago teammate,

"Well, I should probably head off, good luck tomorrow, Naruto, not that you need it, I'm sure," She smiled politely at him as he grinned back, offering a thumbs up, "See you,"

She dipped her head slightly before seeming to disappear as she sped over the rooftops and back to her apartment; as she entered her home, she found herself wondering slightly why Naruto had seemed as though he'd sought her out when he seemed not to have anything directly to say or ask her.

She shed her sandals before walked over to her small kitchenette, plucking a water bottle from the fridge and quaffing a few healthy glugs; it wasn't particularly late but she was feeling hungry and so dug out her plate of left overs and placed it in the oven to heat up.

Their date to head to Suna was fast approaching and Sakura was eagerly anticipating the tournament, but she was _not_ looking forward to the desert heat; still every one of the travelling party going to the circle rounds were those she was on familiar (and generally friendly) terms with. She was looking forward to being able to speak with Ino again – she hadn't had much of a chance to meet with her, properly, recently and as a consequence had no idea how the blonde was.

Sakura thoughts returned to her team and was glad that they'd gotten the opportunity to fight against both Naruto and Kakashi – Akihiko and Taiki were likely to find themselves faced with fighting Naruto if they did well – and so on that day, after their briefing with Tsunade-sama, more than a month ago, Kakashi asked herself and her team, along with Naruto, to a joint training session – Sakura found herself agreeing and paired with Raiden:

_They walked in an amiable silence until they reached the Jounin training ground Kakashi and Sakura favoured when training with each other, _

_"Alright…everyone pick a partner and spar until a winner is decided, normal friendly sparing rules apply – think of this more as an agility and counter-attack exercise…Akihiko, let's go," Kakashi's relaxed voice instructed the group,  
><em>

_"Eh?" Said shinobi responded, his eyes rounding in worriment, averting his eyes to Sakura who merely grinned, "But…"_

_"Ninjutsu specialist?" Akihiko nodded,_

_"Alright," Kakashi turned and walked away to give each of the three teams some space, Akihiko eventually turned and follow after, looking somewhat worried,_

_"Ay, Raiden," Sakura nodded to the more serious of her teammates who trotted towards her as Taiki introduced himself to Naruto; they walked away a little before Raiden piped up,_

_"Ah…things seem less…tense between you and Uzumaki-san lately," Sakura didn't look at him,_

_"Hmm," She could almost hear him take a deep breath,_

_"It's…good, I guess; you, he and Hatake-san were all once teammates, right? After all of that, to have tension must have been extremely stressful," Sakura sighed lightly, before finally slanting her eyes across to him, concern written all over his face – although still fairly well concealed,_

_"It was…and unfortunately, none of them were very good at communication – so nothing ever got talked out when it needed to be." She could see Raiden nod in her periphery as she turned back to see a healthy distance between Naruto and Taiki, "Alright, let's get started…as we're both in circle round, only weapons and kibakufuda are forbidden," She grinned as Raiden grimaced slightly;_

_"Hai, taichou," They crouched for a moment before leaping towards one another, a blinding clash of fists and arms blurred in the pale sunshine for a few moments; Raiden's unusually talkative mood continued,_

_"You and Hatake-san seem to be improving your relationship as well," _

_"What about it?" She purposefully avoided his eyes as she aimed a kick at his abdomen; he deflected and brought his knee back up to strike her,_

_"It's good…I think he's the friend to you that…we can't be," There was something in his tone and emphasis on the 'we' but Sakura brushed it aside for the moment, surprised at his (accurate) perception. She leaped right back, flipping through the air to control her speed, before landing in a crouch, preparing her chakra;_

_"I didn't realise you were so perceptive, Raiden," _

_"I'm not an idiot, captain, I know you like to keep your distance from us and I don't really blame you…but…" He misjudged Sakura's chakra enhanced elbow and caught it to his ribs, flinging him to the ground before he could finished his sentence, he was back on his feet in seconds and flashing through the hand seals, "…But I always thought you were…" He ducked again, "…lonely…" _

_He sprang forward, having almost caught Sakura off guard with his statement, he immediately followed through casting his genjutsu which, although was a simple one it was tricky – especially to those expecting the complex. His jutsu was kokohi no jutsu [false place] which altered Sakura's perception enough to make her see him coming at her from two feet further left than in reality. _

_Sakura was wise to it of course, her natural skill having lay with genjutsu from her genin days, allowed Raiden to believe she had fallen for the jutsu whilst she dropped to the ground at the last second forming the hand seals for doryuusu no jutsu [rising spears] which flew up just in front of Sakura and trapped Raiden within them. _

_As his foot had been outstretched, the spears rose so as to trap him in a dead halt, his leg pinned by the sold earthen spears; Sakura was quick on the follow-up and brought her foot down harshly onto Raiden's chest, he managed an initial block with his arms, but he couldn't counteract Sakura's second blow with her fist to his stomach fast enough. _

_She readjusted to take aim for a third time and Raiden raised his free leg and managed to kick her off, she blocked but couldn't absorb the blow and was sent careening back _a few meters_ as he freed himself from the earth prison._

_They stood facing each other for a few minutes, sizing each other up for a few moments before they sprang into action, Sakura immediately forming the seals for a kage bunshin before continuing on to form the seals of another jutsu; her clone leapt forward to engage Raiden in taijutsu, although it didn't hold him for long. _

_Raiden himself, smashed his fist through the clones stomach destroying it as he leapt up and flashed through the seals for the karyuu endan technique, a great jet of fire exhaled from him and Sakura had only just enough time to raise a great wall of mud to defend against the flame. _

_She crouched low behind the wall and formed another kage bunshin to leap out as soon as the torrent of fire ceased; the original paused for a few moments, waiting to cast a genjutsu. As soon as she felt the clone's memories transfer back to her she leapt up on top of the wall and formed the seals to cast the jutsu, making a tree suddenly spring up from the ground and ensnare the shinobi. _

_Sakura leapt ahead and landed in front of him, she could sense him desperately trying to gain control over his own chakra but she held him off and raised her fist to him as though aiming a strike,_

_"Let's call it here, shall we?" Raiden struggled for a moment, before sighing a soft:_

_"Damn you," _

_Sakura cancelled the jutsu and the both stepped back for a moment, breathing heavily from the physical and chakra exertion; they both wandered back to the far side of the mud wall where they could see Naruto very close to defeating Taiki and what seemed to be Kakashi and Akihiko's fight still raging. _

_Raiden and Sakura took a seat on the grass for a few moments, their eyes still on the other teams,_

_"I'm glad to see that you're definitely back up to full strength, captain," She looked over to Raiden for a few moments before offering a half-hearted smile, _

_"Yea…"_

_"Taichou?"_

_"Hmm?"_

_"Why aren't you participating in the medic's competition?" Sakura thought a few moments, allowing a wry smile to find its way to her face,_

_"Can't give away all my secrets, now can I?"_

Sakura found herself thinking over what Raiden had said – that Kakashi was a friend to her in the way her team couldn't be – was one which had kept her mind buzzing; certainly she was close to Kakashi but whenever Sakura thought about who her friends were, Gai's grinning image appeared in her mind.

Somehow, she thought of Kakashi on friendly footings and enjoyed his company, but she never consciously registered him in such familiar terms – probably because Gai was the one she pictured herself as being closest to and the Green Beast and the Copy Nin couldn't be more diametrically opposed, in terms of personality and manner, if they consciously tried.

If asked, she'd have to say 'friend' even though it wasn't quite the truth, although not in the negative way such a realisation implied; it felt more to Sakura as though there hadn't been a term yet invented which could delineate their relationship – as though the parameters hadn't been defined and there was a strange sense of mystery about how or what they were – or even where they could go…such thoughts were as intriguing as they were worrying.

* * *

><p>Raiden tugged the elongated box out of its well-planned hiding place, he flipped the lid open and observed the object for a while, revelling in the craftsmanship his father was capable of producing – a man who, although no shinobi himself – specialised in the creation of ninja weapons. It was a precious gift he wasn't quite ready to reveal to the receiver just yet.<p>

Raiden pulled his attention from the item and looked out of his small window seeing that dawn had already come and passed, so it was time for him to head to the stadium and watch over the crowds for any suspicious behaviour.

He was pleased that his two teammates had passed the preliminaries and was looking forward to seeing them fight – with Taiki being skilled in lightening and water natures and Akihiko being skilled in fire and wind, there really wasn't a lot they couldn't cope with.

Raiden, just before he left his diminutive home (which he still shared with his father, not really seeing the necessity to move out, and feeling a little bad that his father would be alone) he cast a quick – and although simple – highly effective henge.

The physical resemblance of one Sakayana Raiden, ANBU operative, was no more; instead, the visage which appeared from the plumes of smoke possessed short, scruffy, dirty blonde hair, crooked nose, deep green eyes and a slightly podgier frame than what was natural.

He stepped out of the house and meandered semi-purposefully towards the usual Chuunin testing-grounds; as he took his seat, far at the back, his eyes swept over the spectators, Maito-san was without henge as he decided to act as a visible force of authority.

(And as Sakura had cheekily suggested, anyone foolish enough to try something at the tournament, would probably be foolish enough to underestimate Gai).

The games had begun shortly after Raiden's arrival to the stalls that he, Sakura, Kakashi and Gai were watching over and two unknown shinobi – one from Mist and another from Lightening – engaged in battle; it was fierce and fast, both appeared to be hot-blooded and were water and doton element users respectively.

They tended to make harsh, violent strikes which would normally be good for confusing the enemy instantly, before allowing a teammate to move in immediate after and strike the punishing blow; although effective – he and Sakura had used such a combination in the past – it was limited to just that: a combination.

It had little effectiveness in the heat of a single one-on-one battle; Raiden swept his eyes over the crowd every now and then – most held the picture of an innocent civilian witnessing the technical capability of elite shinobi. Very quickly another Leaf participant – the Hyuuga heiress – stepped up and was pitted against an Iwa shinobi; the fight was among the fastest, although Hinata waited, at first, for her enemy to make a move.

He did by creating a rock golem which appeared to climb out of the earth and trudged towards Hinata. At first, Raiden thought she'd just frozen as she allowed the golem to come within five feet of her, but in the split second it took for the rock creature to pick it's foot up off the ground, the Hyuuga had spun herself in to what appeared to be a gigantic maelstrom which the golem was too close to avoid, so was instantly destroyed by the monstrous chakra pressure exuded from the Hakkeshou Kaiten.

Her enemy barely had time to stop smirking before Hinata was suddenly before him and executing her Hakke Rokujuuyonshu, thrusting her extended index and middle finger towards his opening points of his chakra, temporarily collapsing them, in the blink of an eye. The enemy nin managed to pull away at the last second, avoiding the second onslaught of her attacks; he was severely weakened, however, and Hinata immediately made a kage bunshin and had it dart to him, thrusting kicks and punches at him.

He didn't do too badly in avoiding them, but the bunshin was a distraction as Hinata moulded her chakra and leapt at the weakened nin with her fists encased in chakra lion heads: Juuho Shoushiken. The Hyuuga defeated him easily and quite cleanly, from the man's start, it was obvious that he wasn't aware of the prowess of this generation of Hyuuga.

The crowd gasped and clapped as they observed the Hyuuga deal a finished blow to the enemy nin as Raiden scanned his eyes over the crowd, he spotted a few smug faces – telling of how they'd like to fight the kuniochi, if only to prove how much better they could do – but he saw nothing which made him sit up.

The next contenders arrived onto the grounds and Raiden didn't recognise either – one was from Water and the other Wind; leaning back in his chair slightly, his eye retraced the pattern over the crowds, still seeing only enthralled faces watching visually spectacular fights.

…

The crowd was beginning to disband as all had risen from their seats and were slowly descending from the stalls – the day's fights finished and a few to be decided tomorrow for the overall winner. All of the fights had narrowed down the competitors to a remaining eleven: two from lightening, one each from Rock, Stone and Mist, two from Wind and four from Fire.

All were highly skilled and some fights took almost an hour to finish; Raiden has to forcibly resist the urge to smugly grin at seeing that both Akihiko and Taiki have made it through to the final rounds – even if they were the first to fall tomorrow, he will still be damn proud of them.

He held back a little, waiting to for a signal from his captain, which came a few moments later and he made his way discreetly over to her, dropping his henge as Sakura, Kakashi and Gai materialised in front of him and the last of the civilians had dissipated.

"Seen anything interesting?"

"You mean besides Taiki's and Akihiko's fights?" Sakura smirked lightly as Kakashi took a step closer to them, just behind Sakura with his eye trained upon Raiden, "Well, nothing really of note from the crowds, no one really looked particularly suspicious – which I'm not really sure if that's suspicious of itself or not." Raiden admitted as Sakura nodded and turned slightly to the elder male hovering over her shoulder,

"I didn't see anything either, but Raiden might have a point – it's possible that they're waiting for the competition to be thinned – as the Hyuuga and Naruto are both tempting targets in their own right,"

"I tend to agree, they could merely be waiting for the right opportunity," Kakashi averted his eye from Sakura over to Gai as he stepped up on the far side of the kuniochi,

"I still haven't sensed anything _off_, though, if an attack was being planned, I feel certain I would sense something,"

"You might be right, Gai, I can't say I've sensed anything unusual, myself,"

"I doubt anything will become clear until tomorrow…and we'll have to be on high guard," They all turned and slowly made their way back out of the stadium,

"Hmm… I'm impressed at how may Leafs we have in the final rounds…Hinata-san, Naruto, Taiki and Akihiko…they've all done very well," Kakashi's cool voice resounded from Sakura's left,

"I know…Hinata-san has come so far in the last few years and she's really shown what the main house of the Hyuuga is capable of,"

"Indeed…I presume Neji-kun was told to drop out, so as not to reveal exactly what the clan is capable of…no doubt the same for Hanabi-chan,"

"Yes, I would imagine so," They carefully descended the stair case, all of their respective minds, carefully considering what might be an outcome of the next day.

* * *

><p>The fights were intense and everyone had as much to lose as they had to gain; there were many potential clients watching their skill and progress, a false move could mean a lot more than a bruised body or ego. A majority of the Jounins, including Sakura, Gai, Kakashi and Raiden observed the final rounds of the ninjutsu specialists' competitions, as they partially expected, no attacks against Konoha or its citizens were made – the only thing which happened of interest were the battles.<p>

The first fight was between Hinata and the Mist ninja, it had been a long fight and much of it near unreadable to all but the most perceptive of eyes; in the end, it had been an incredibly close call, but Hinata prevailed due to the lightning fast reactions demanded by her bloodline and its associated secret techniques.

They moved quickly on, and the next fight was between the Kumo and one of the two Sand nin, it was swift and violent – the Kumo shinobi being saved from a bloody death at only the last second.

Taiki's turn came next and the young man seriously proved himself – against a doton element user (a type against which he'd had great practice with) from Rock – they fought fairly evenly for a while, Raiden _knowing_ Taiki could do so much better, but he seemed to be holding back.

Eventually, the Rock nin was coerced into using one of his signature doton, which Taiki read with ease and hence countered it with an immediate lightening technique which forced the flow of earth to cease and rendered immovable immediately, Taiki leapt up to avoid a second wave of earth trying to attack him, and created a gigantic wave of water.

The half-drowned Rock nin managed to use another doton element which created great rents in the earth – so appeared to absorb away the water created into nothing; but Taiki hadn't made it to the final rounds on sheer luck. As the Rock nin threw a few kibakufuda towards Taiki, the nin ducked at the last second, performing the split second hand seals for his Hiraishin no jutsu [sparking electric needles] before thrusting his hand into the ground, allowing the eletricty in his hand to find and be conducted through the remaining water in the earth.

A few crackles and sparks of electricity resounded from the earth before the Rock nin released a loud, uncontrollable shriek as electricity coursed his body for a few seconds until he crumpled to the floor, presumably unconscious.

Although Raiden couldn't see, he and Sakura shared identical matching smiles of both pride and glee at Taiki's win – his manipulation of both elements in tandem, but still remaining separate, had really done him proud.

The next few matches flew by, until Akihiko was drawn against Naruto – as much as Sakura knew of Akihiko's strength, he really wasn't a match for Naruto – although what perhaps gave him an advantage, was the fact that Akihiko was a fire/wind element user and Naruto, so far as Sakura knew, had yet to master a second element.

They began fast and fiery battles, Naruto using his signature kage bunshin extensively and in combination with his sage mode as Akihiko kept upping the level by using a katon/futon amalgamation to wipe out Naruto's futon only.

The battle was long and Sakura could easily see that Akihiko was tiring – he was a short and sharp fighter, not suited to the long term battles that the blonde could handle and that, no doubt, would be his downfall.

Just as Sakura's teammate destroyed another kage bunshin and leapt back out of harm's way to observe and rest for a moment but Naruto's boundless energy, it seemed, was his saving grace as every move Akihiko could pull, it was matched by Naruto's ability to pick himself up and recover, with thanks to the Kyuubi from even serious burns and cuts (or send a clone in to take the worst of the damage or divert so he could swoop in and strike a heavy blow).

Akihiko did exceptionally well and gave Naruto a serious run for his money, showing off just what a skilled ANBU he was, but unfortunately, he wasn't a match for Naruto's stamina (not to mention that he'd improved massively over his years of absence) and the final clash between them, between an already knackered Akihiko and a sage mode Naruto was too much.

The younger ANBU was knocked clean of his feet and from the way his body flew, was unconscious before he'd even hit the ground, Sakura was sad her teammate had lost, but she was proud of him nonetheless and had still given Naruto a serious run for his money.

Still, no one appeared suspicious from the observing crowd and the number of contestants steadily diminished until there were only two; a surprising two at that: Naruto and Hinata. They took a few extra moments before they began battling each other, but it was again fast and furious, Hinata's Kaiten easily took on Naruto's kage bunshins and they quickly reached a sort of deadlock.

Sakura found herself strangely proud of Hinata – whom she knew had (or maybe still has) a crush on Naruto, but here she appeared to be fighting the blonde shinobi all out, determined to win. Back in the day, that was _not_ something she would have done, no matter what coercion she might have been under – but here she was, giving her all and Naruto was genuinely struggling; although some of that was no doubt from his desire not to cause her serious injury.

Naruto took an opportunity to access his sage mode and the tables turned again, as his taijutsu moves increased tenfold and Hinata began to run low on chakra, making her defences weak and she succumbed to a few nasty blows.

Eventually, Naruto's stamina and his Kyuubi chakra was enough to give him a serious edge - as he could summon the Fox's chakra and strke at Hinata using only a chakra extension to exhaust her defence, before swooping in himself to attack; he was able overcome his own chakra exhaustion (thanks to the Fox's) so that he eventually managed to pin Hinata with the strength of his sage mode and fit a kunai to her neck, which was enough of a signifier of her defeat.

And, despite the fact that none of the spectators had yet made an aggressive move – although Sakura and the group were still on edge waiting for something – the eruption of the crowds awe and congratulations became the overriding symbol: the ninjutsu specialist competition was finally at a close.

..

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><p>An – apologies for this chapter, it took me over a week to write this, I just couldn't get the inspiration for it – kept writing, re-writing and deleting lol – unfortunately, so apologies for the state of it – I was sick of it hanging around when I had so many ideas for the circle challenges etc, it was a weight I really needed to shed before I could move on with the story; hence it's not really a great chapter!

And likewise, I didn't write out loads of fights because I thought they'd just get too repetitive, so I stuck mostly with the gist – I assumed you all have good enough imaginations to compensate! ^-^

Also, I wanted Hinata to win, but to be honest, I don't think there's a shinobi alive which could keep up with the power of a jinchuuriki in control of his tailed beast, except another, so it seemed appropriate for him to win.


	28. Chapter 28

_I can't believe this story has already achieved over 100 reviews! *Swirly eyes* You guys are really amazing! It would never have ballooned into the monster it is today without all your support! (Ahah, yes, that was supposed to be a compliment ^-^) So thank you all *very happy*_

..

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 28: Desert Heat_

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><p>They came to a halt leaping effortlessly from the trees to the ground, settling themselves for a short rest; Sakura leant her back to a tree as she sipped from her water bottle, Ino, Kurenai and Yamato all crouched on the far side of the clearing, resting their bodies enough to make sure they didn't waste any unnecessary energy on travelling. Kakashi did his typical wandering-off routine, presumably to scout the surrounding area for any potential threat, and Raiden hadn't bothered to drop to the ground, so merely sunk to a seat on the wide branch.<p>

Tsunade had seen fit to send them without an ANBU escort – since not only four of the six _were_ ANBU, but that they would be strong enough to fight off an attack; even after the competition, if necessary, they were, with the Kazekage's permission, allowed to remain in Suna an extra day or two to recover before returning. They had already been on the road a day and were just about at the Fire/River border, the group's pace somewhat leisurely – for Jounin level, at least.

Sakura smiled at the thought of how irritated Taiki and Akihiko had been at coming third and fifth respectively, they'd both done very well and despite their personal disappointment, Sakura ignored it, for they'd both met their disqualifying defeats at the hand of the bizarre anomaly that was Uzumaki Naruto.

"Sakura," Ino caught the pink's attention as she wandered over to her,

"Hey," Sakura replaced the cap on her water bottle and slipped it back into the carrying loop on her belt,

"You were watching over the ninjutsu only rounds, right?"

"Uh-huh,"

"I was really hoping Chouji would do better, but some of the participants were amazing,"

"They were…and not being an element user, or at least, not using it as primary ninjutsu – without you guys – would cause a lot of problems," Sakura countered, knowing Ino's words were born from frustration at knowing how impressive the individual members of Ino-Shika-Chou could be.

"Yea, I suppose…we're proud of him, though, that lazy-bum Shikamaru couldn't be bothered to grumble more than a terse 'no' whenever we mentioned him entering," Ino gave a sharp roll of the eyes as Sakura grinned slightly, Shikamaru was an exceptionally able-bodied ninja, but when he was off duty, he was _off_ duty.

"Ahah, that wasn't unexpected…Shikamaru probably had more fun analysing all the moves and finding counters,"

"Hmm, that he did…He kept tuting at Naruto's impossible stamina for screwing up all of his predictions," Ino sighed again slightly, relaxing down to sit more fully on the floor, as Sakura decided to join her, her feet wouldn't mind a brief rest,

"I was really impressed at how well your team did, too, Sakura; I guess you weren't lying about your team's ability…" She grinned in a cheeky way, "I wasn't too surprised by Naruto, either, his boundless energy couldn't be defeated by anyone! Although Hinata certainly gave him a good roughing over!" Sakura nodded,

"She did, I almost didn't think she had it in her, but I suppose as the time for her to take over the clan is drawing nearer, she's inevitably had to live up to what's expected,"

"Yea, that's true…about time she got over her crush on him," Sakura quirked an eyebrow,

"Hmm?" She suddenly felt acutely aware of who could be listening in on their conversation – not that it really matter, nothing truly personal (or a secret) was being discussed, but somehow, topics of these were ones Sakura avoided at all costs; their voices lowered even further,

"Hinata used to love him so much, but the blind idiot never noticed and then _left_ for five years,"

"He had his own reasons for leaving, Ino, and frankly after everything he did for the entire shinobi world, all he really asked for was to be left alone to travel for a while, I doubt anyone could begrudge him that," Ino pursed her lips slightly,

"You certainly seemed to have done a complete one-eighty," Sakura sighed blithely,

"I haven't; just because I'm able to understand him and where he's coming from does _not_ mean everything's forgotten and happy-forever," Sakura tugged a hand though her long pink hair, frowning slightly as her fingers tugged on a few of the more stubborn knots, "I can forgive him, but it doesn't mean I'll forget it," Sakura rose to her feet to stretch out her legs, which she'd been sitting on, her rising seemed to gain some attentions, "Shall we continue on? We should cross River entirely before nightfall."

"Agreed, let's go," Kakashi's cool voice materialised along with his person as he slinked out of the trees between where Raiden was sat and Yamato and Kurenai; the entire company previously sat rose to their feet and dusted themselves off, preparing to run again, Kakashi took point, who was followed by Kurenai, Ino, Sakura then Raiden and Yamato last. As typical, especially with their departure from home territory they fell silent and raised their guards, their footsteps silent and landed with precision, their pace far swifter than before.

…

It was closing on dusk as the slipped beyond the border of River and into Wind country; they were ahead of schedule and with luck and an early rising, they should arrive in Suna by early afternoon of the next day. They set down and paused for a few moments as they make their way over to one of the outcrops of rock making use of the same cave they usually did when travelling to Suna; it was surveyed for either other occupants or any potential hazards.

It was deemed safe enough and the company quickly set about creating a fire and cooking a meal (ramen, unfortunately); Yamato and Kakashi worked on setting up a perimeter to alert them of any unexpected visitors whilst the remaining company organised the shifts for watch. Sakura decided on going last, due to their number, they'd each only have to be watch for just over an hour and she enjoyed being alone first thing in the morning – and the open desert would provide a breath-taking sunrise.

Soon, the water was boiling away and the large pot of noodles cooked as everyone was resting from the long day of running; Wind maybe allied territory, but it was too soon to divert any attention from their guarded dispositions, the entire troop merely giving the illusion of being relaxed.

The food was cooked almost the moment Kakashi and Yamato returned and the entire pot was devoured in minutes; after dinner, Sakura laid out her bed roll at one end of the small camp and sorted through her weapons, reorganising them from the jostling they received in transit, soon, she and the rest of her company, bar Kakashi, laid down and slipped into sleep.

All too quickly, she felt herself being jostled awake by Yamato, who yawned slightly as she sat up and nodded to him that she was awake and he could lie down again, he briefly explained that he hadn't seen anything and that the seals were still intact, but she should check them again nonetheless. Stretching as she rose to her feet, her shoulder clicking from having been held still for so long, she followed Yamato's advice, but not before deciding on something hot to drink to help her wake up.

She replaced the small pot over the fire and waited for the water to boil as she stepped out from the cave to look around, there was still about an hour before dawn and Sakura opened her senses to the surrounding area and thankfully felt no other presences.

She checked that all of the seals were still in place before returning to fetch a cup of hot water and leaping up to a spot on the jagged ledge, she observed the open desert slowly being bathed in the early sun, she began to stretch her joints out before returning to wake the rest of the company.

Their pace was swift across the sand as they set out early in an attempt to avoid as much of the midday sun as possible, but by the time they arrived in Suna it was late afternoon and the sun had begun its slow decent. They were met at the gates by a grinning Kankuro and Temari, as well as a few other of their Jounin,

"Well, it's certainly been a while, hasn't it?" Temari bowed politely to the troop, "Gaara-sama apologises for not being able to greet you personally, it seems the elders has a few last minute things they decided simply could _not_ wait," Kakashi heard the exasperation in her voice,

"Ah, it's no problem, in fact, you allowing us to stay here at all is very gracious and we deeply appreciate it," Kakashi too inclined his head slightly in politeness as Temari smiled lightly as her eyes flashed with amiable amusement,

"Konoha are out allies, you'll always be welcome here," She beckoned them to follow as she turned to lead them into the heart of the village, her senses having already confirmed their chakra – they all being nin she'd deal with before.

The immediate and deep shadow provided by the fissure in the immense rock cordon was very welcome by the tired and sweaty shinobi who'd spent the better part of a day running through the open desert. Swiftly, they were led through the weaving streets of Sunagakure and towards the Kazekage's tower, Sakura scanned her eyes over the visually very different streets, although they held a similar sort of air as Konoha – the relative civilian population was smaller, but their presence was noticeable.

Temari didn't speak much and soon they were winding their way up the stair case towards the Kazekage's office, the cool building making them acutely aware of just what the temperature had been outside. Temari rapped on the door and waiting, the young Kazekage's call coming not long after and she opened the door and wandered inside, leading the Konoha troop in.

Gaara greeted them with his usual quiet and solemn attitude, although he managed a bare smile, the exchanged a few pleasantries and a few formal greetings were made – Kakashi handed over an official scroll from Tsunade and as greeting to her ally.

"Kakashi-san, I would like to invite you all to join me for dinner later, where we can more easily discuss a few items about tournament security," Kakashi bowed politely,

"We would be honoured, Kazekage-sama," Gaara managed another small, but polite smile (he had Sai beat, that was for sure),

"Excellent; I will allow you to go and rest from your journey, Temari will take you to your quarters and I will send her to collect you at around seven…" The entire company bowed lightly in respect as they thanked the once-jinchuuriki and followed after Temari, who lead them back out of the official Kazekage administration building and into another – usually reserved for formal guests.

Apparently most other contestants had gone straight down to the arena and had utilised the temporary lodgings Suna had set up for them – the large tents designated by nation allegiance and with internal divides for gender thereafter. As the Leafs were direct and the strongest allies, Gaara had allowed them to come to stay in Suna for the night before so that they could discuss any outstanding issues – such as what to do _if_ an attack was made – either against Sand or the tournament as a whole – the final competition being a large and attractive target.

They were directed to two rooms with three beds each (Sakura would much rather have a room to herself, but it really wasn't the time to be picky – she was much _more_ grateful to have a bed at all and Ino and Kurenai weren't the worst roommates); she tugged off her backpack and flopped down on the bed, for the first time that day, realising just how tired she felt.

Slipping her sandals off, she decided to take advantage of the time allowed and take a small nap, just as she fully laid down, resting her head on the pillow, she drifted into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>She'd awoken after about an hour feeling nicely refreshed and took the opportunity for a shower and a change of clothes; all too quickly, Temari appeared and they followed her down to a large dining room, Sakura was silently thankful for Suna's love of good food; after three days on ramen, she was more than ready for a more fulfilling meal.<p>

They all took their seats, she ended up between Raiden and Kankuro, she was opposite Kurenai and Temari, Ino and Kakashi were both sat at a sort of four and eight o'clock position, relative to her, making it difficult to speak to either of them, had she wanted to.

Gaara initially raised the obvious concerns regarding any groups who may think it wise to attack – most of it was fairly standard precaution which everyone already knew, but protocol demanded another skim-over. They were about half way through dinner (a rather delicious noodle stir-fry dish with numerous soup based sides – Sakura felt it was still a little too hot for soup (even if it was delightful), but she stomached it nonetheless, not wanting to appear rude) before the conversation turned to matters the Leafs had yet to be informed more thoroughly about.

Eventually, Gaara explain in more detail about where the tournament was going to be held – in a small town about six hours travel south-east from Suna, fairly close to the border of Wind and River – it was on the northern side of a mountain range where a small village was located.

As the village was backed by mountains, it would prove to have well sheltered grounds for sparring. They'd set up barracks just outside of the town – which had been used in the past for their Jounin testing grounds; the small village was left as purely civilian and generally un-interfered with, bar any tournaments or serious tests held there.

Gaara made mention of what they could expect to be face with there –fairly barren place, with a moderate civilian population (all nin had been asked to appreciate the fact they _were_ guests) and that they would have to be mindful that opponents would have little more than tents separating them.

Konoha had held a similar set up for the ninjutsu specialists so there was nothing they weren't used to – still Sakura was reassured by the fact Gaara was posting a few teams of their ANBU squads to watch over the tournament and the 'between-times' – the last thing the cherry blossom wanted was to feel constantly on edge from potential attack from cocky rogue shinobi who felt like throwing their weight around.

Gaara offered a little sake to those who chose to imbibe – which Ino, Kurenai and Raiden did – with still another day to the competition it wouldn't really make too much difference, so long as they kept themselves to a glass or two. Gaara's other concerns centred around those who would either disrupt the tournament – potentially as a way to give Suna a bad name and thereby slowly disrupt the balance of powers.

There was little discussed which Tsunade hadn't already briefed them on and Kakashi – having taken charge of their group – was able to update Gaara on what Tsunade herself had anticipated for the final rounds. The rest of the table descended into chatter and Sakura found herself listening to Kankuro talk about the puppeteer challenges, (in which he came first) and his grousing about how he hadn't faced a really challenging opponent since Sasori.

Sakura was, of course, tempted to point out that it was a good thing since he was poisoned and nearly died as a result of Sasori's puppetry skills (and she herself had to rush from Konoha to save him) but, she supposed, the only way to improve is by fighting those stronger than yourself. Sakura regaled the barest information about the ninjutsu specialist rounds and Kankuro was delighted to hear that Naruto had finally come out of hiding and had won the competition.

All too quickly, the rest of the table got wind of what they were talking about and Gaara insisted on hearing all about Naruto; it was awkward when Gaara asked for details about what the fellow jinchuuriki had done with himself during his some five-year absence and Sakura, quite literally, couldn't tell him anything.

Thankfully, Kakashi was able to somewhat smoothly step in and say that Naruto had returned not too long before the beginning of the competitions and they had found it difficult to find enough time in which to hear the many stories Naruto had gathered – that and Kakashi modestly stated that he was no story-teller and couldn't do the few tales he'd heard justice.

Kankuro guffawed at the last statement and instantly stated that it was Naruto's annoying, brash nature that made him who he was (and that Kakashi-san seriously coudn't be worse than Naruto in that arena) and had he changed much?

Eventually it wound down to a halt and they were dismissed, Sakura was glad to be free of the stifling room, her typical attire consisting of the baggy standard-issue trousers and jinbei-style top with long sleeves were generally fairly cool – for the Fire country climate – in Wind country it gave an illusion more of being cooked alive. Thankfully, the sun had long since set and as they all walked down the corridor to their rooms – Ino and Kurenai went almost immediately to bed and as far as she knew the boys had done the same.

She slipped back out of the room after a few minutes, hoping to catch a little while in a breeze, alone; from her previous visits to Suna she knew that there was a fairly secluded balcony just along the corridor, which was usually left open to allow ventilation through the otherwise stuffy, formal building. She padded silently down to it, finding it pleasantly secluded and overlooking the streets of the village below; resting her arms on the ledge, she looked out over the town, breathing a sigh of peace.

The night sky was perfectly cloudless and the stars twinkled slightly, despite the lights till illuminating the streets and the light hum of chatter from those still up and about;

"It seems we had the same idea," Kakashi's lightly amused voice pulled her attention back around to the door way, to spot him walking over to her until he stopped right next to her, his arms folded on the ledge, just the same as hers, their shoulders nearly touching.

"Hmm…it was too stuffy in there and I doubted there'll be much of a chance to cool off over the coming week or so," Her eyes briefly flicked over to him, before they reverted back down to looking over the village,

"Yea…I'm hoping that it being close to mountains will bring in a breeze, but you can't be too sure in Wind country,"

"Heh, how cruel the name seems when you're actually here," She could hear Kakashi snort slightly in vague amusement, before they fell silent again, the occasional cool draft of air breezing past them as they temperature steadily dropped in cruel contrast the heat of the day;

"I haven't been so far south in Wind country before, have you?" Kakashi shook his head,

"Iie, I've been further west into the deep desert, a few months ago to track some escaped criminals, but never to the south of the country, I'm curious as to what to expect,"

"Yea…I can't help but think that the civilian town might throw up some problems; the contracted or wandering shinobi tend to be a little less disciplined and more likely to throw their weight around,"

"That's true, but I would imagine that Suna has made eventualities for it…" They locked eyes for a moment, Kakashi eyed the small smile playing on her lips, "What?"

"Just wondering about the probability of having you as an opponent," Unbeknownst to her, he returned the smile,

"Highly likely I'd imagine; I suppose it'd just depend on which round we'd be facing each other in," Her smile turned a bit more lopsided,

"What the bet it's in the genjutsu round?"

"Heh, yeah, we haven't trained so much for illusion techniques with each other, have we?" Sakura allowed her eyes to drift up to night sky for a few moments, her smile lingering, before a thought struck her,

"Hey, will you be allowed to use your sharingan for rounds other than ninjutsu?" She looked back to him, immediately meeting his gaze,

"Hmm, I'm not certain, I guess not for taijutsu because it's something that requires chakra, but I might well be able to for genjutsu…but I'd image they'll have specific instructions for me when I arrive; Tsunade suggested that would be the case." Sakura nodded, and turned back to look over Suna, her upper arm brushing lightly with his; she could feel the warmth radiating off his body contrasting with the cool air around them. As aware as she was of the man stood next to her, she wasn't quite ready to leave,

"We'll be leaving at about six tomorrow, so that we'll arrive around midday – that will give us plenty of time to set up and scout around a little,"

"Hai, I'll be glad to get my bearings…Do you know how many Sand nin are participating?"

"Hmm…I'm not sure, Temari-san mentioned that we'd be accompanied by a handful of other competitors, but that could mean anything, we'll have to see tomorrow,"

"Aah,"

The conversation comfortably lulled for a few minutes.

"I…apologise if I stepped on your toes during dinner,"

"Hmm?" She looked over to find him staring down at the city-scape, "What do you mean?"

"Gaara-sama asked you about Naruto, I'm aware I stepped in on your silence," Sakura couldn't quite keep the sigh from reaching her lips,

"It's alright…it was more the fact that I really couldn't tell him anything – I haven't asked Naruto what he's been up to…I probably should have done,"

"Don't beat yourself up over it, you and he have had more important things to talk about recently, than what would ostensibly be gossip,"

"Hmm…"

"It's not as if I've spoken to him much about what he's been up to either – apart from being busy with missions and training with you – I _could_ have found the time, but I didn't and I haven't any excuse, not even a bad one," Sakura couldn't resist the breath of laughter that escaped her with his comment, turning to him to see his eye slightly crinkled in amusement,

"I know, but I still feel a little guilty,"

"They don't know the whole story – and to be honest, I'm just happy you guys are at least _trying_ to put things to rights," She hadn't noticed when his voice had suddenly dipped to a whisper, but as she noted it, she also became aware of just how little distance there seemed to be between them, barely a few inches from his face to hers.

She did her best not to allow her mind to recklessly conjure images of his semi-naked form – not helped in the slightest either by knowing exactly how he looked barely clothed and that his proximity was unusual, they rarely crossed at least a foot or so between them except during spars.

She didn't make any move either closer to or further from him; it was strangely curious to observe him up close, as though captured in the instant and neither could tear their eyes away. There wasn't anything else she found herself focusing on besides him and how his eye was trained upon her - as well as whether the size of the distance between them was good or bad.

Then, just as quickly as the tension flared, it dissipated and Sakura tore her eyes from his, dashing them over the silhouette of Suna in mild embarrassment and uncertainty; unable to keep herself from sighing lightly as a means to break the silence, she pushed up off the ledge to stand up straight.

"I…think I'm going to go to bed, I'll see you in the morning," She turned and walked back over to where the balcony connected to the corridor and just as she turned the corner, she found herself unable to resist looking to her left slightly, back over to his now upright posture, turned to face her.

Her attention sharply spiked as they connected eyes for just a moment again; Sakura didn't try to stop herself putting one foot in front of the other and he disappeared from sight, blocked by the wall, in less than a second. Sakura kept walking, although slowly, as she let out a breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding – wondering what in the _hell_ had just happened (and why she was feeling incredibly unsteadied by it).

* * *

><p>They'd awoken early and set a good pace; the initial Konoha six had been accompanied by five Sand nin (four shinobi and one kuniochi, Temari); they'd run steadily throughout the relative cool of the morning and had made it to the camp well on schedule. Sakura was thankful for the lack of awkward exchange between herself and Kakashi as they'd had no reason to speak directly and their automatically assumed travelling formation kept them at a distance.<p>

She'd been kept awake for a while after she'd left him by her mind trying to figure out what it meant and why she reacted so strongly to his proximity (why had she felt so anxious? Nervous, even?) She hadn't been able to answer and had eventually fallen into a fitful sleep. The heat of the day was just beginning as they were directed to their tents; there were long rectangular marquees set up with internal dividers to separate out the shinobi from different nations or like-wise affiliations.

The new arrivals made their way over to where the tents were set up and a desk was located with two shinobi sat behind it, as the Leafs made their way up to the desk, it became clear it was for sign-up purposes. Someone suddenly seemed to pop into existence right in front of them, a man who appeared to be dressed in bizarre civilian clothes with a pink jacket and denim-like trousers – he was definitely a stranger to these parts if the size of his afro was to be believed.

Sakura found herself stealing a glance at Raiden next to her who appeared to look as confused about the man as she did; he walked up to the counter,

"I'm Nabashin," He held out one hand flat as a semi wave, much in the way Kakashi tended to, as the two men nodded and scribbled something on their paper,

"Very well, you tent is located at –" But the pink-jacketed man, cut across him,

"Uh-oh, gotta go!" He took off, disappearing around the corner of the first marquee in seconds; one of the shinobi at the bureau sighed exasperatedly and affixed Kakashi with a stern 'Who's next?' stare. The Copy Nin stepped forward,

"We are the participants from Konoha, Hatake Kakashi, Yuuhi Kurenai, Yamanaka Ino, Sakayana Raiden, Haruno Sakura, and Yamato," One ticked off their names after he eyed them carefully, apparently satisfied of their identities,

"Kuniochi and shinobi are separated, but your…_rooms_ will be opposite each other's – the shinobi in marquee one, the kuniochi two and the individual quarters will have the Konoha leaf above it," Kakashi nodded as they entire group wandered away glad to have finally arrived and be able to finally get out of the relentless sun.

They were allowed to settle in for a little while before they would all be called to a meeting that evening to provide a brief on the next few days of the tournament; they slipped into their assigned tent, grateful to get out of the heat. The shinobi at the desk hadn't been kidding though, 'room' was a liberal term – in as much as they _had_ _room_ in which to set out their bedrolls and just enough not to crash into each other – but aside from that, there were four material walls, a roof and a 'floor' of sorts to provide insulation and protection from numerous desert creatures.

Temari was also staying in the same tent with Kurenai, Ino and Sakura. The pink-haired kuniochi immediately took the bed space on the far side, closest to the far tent wall and sat down upon it, dropping her pack and scooting it to the side, after she'd fetched out her bed roll, placing it over the thin insulator sheet provided (they were a speciality of Suna, ultrathin and lightweight and perfectly insulator against both cold and hot).

She'd quickly organised her bedding before sitting on it to fiddle with her sandal, unable to stand the slight itch caused by the sand in her shoe any longer. Just as she'd _finally_ gotten rid of the blasted sand, Ino crouched down next to her, having finished sorting out her own bedroll;

"Hey, how about we talk a wander around the village and get our bearings?" Sakura nodded, that did seem to be a good idea,

"Sure,"

"Don't hold your breaths, there's not much to look at," Temari grinned as she leaned back on her blankets, sipping from her canteen, both of the younger kuniochi grinned as they nodded a goodbye to Kurenai before disappearing out of the tent. The barracks for the shinobi were set up on the east side of the small village, which itself was made up on one main street with most of the shops or otherwise commercial buildings and other, smaller streets leading of which contained the inhabitants' private property.

The main street ran east to west, following parallel to the mountains which it backed onto and most of the sides streets were to the north side on the southern were a large number of other, tall buildings which were proportionately huge, but appeared not to be for human dwelling or otherwise habitudinal living use – Sakura wondered if they were greenhouses used for growing any and all produce needed by the residents.

The main street was fairly long, but small, just as the entire place was; she and Ino wandered down the main street which was milling with a few random shinobi, most of whom Sakura didn't recognise. At the far end of this street, there were many more tents set up, to a slightly higher standard than those of the shinobi and Sakura took these to be the accommodation of the spectators to the matches.

Some of which were extremely fancy and Sakura had to wonder at just what prestige shinobi spars were held in (their usual regard was held between awe and fear when faced with the clients affiliates and targets; as a result Sakura rarely met those who held serious vested interest in the skill of shinobi, rather, heard the orders passed down without direct contact).

There were certainly less shinobi than in the ninjutsu specialist competition and – as expected – the majority of whom came from the five great nations, although a good number wore no haitai-ate, affiliating them with a village. Sakura and Ino travelled the length of the street quickly, noting the small market-shops, a tea shop and even a bar (out of curiosity, Sakura ascertained that they sold sake – at a high price, for the weekly imports they obtained); it was, ostensibly, a lot like any other village but for being a little on the small side. They eventually came to a halt, sitting in the shade provided by one of the many awnings overhanging the shop fronts,

"What time do we need to head to the grounds for the briefing?"

"I think we were advised for six – but who knows how long it could take," Ino nodded in response,

"Are you feeling ready?"

"Of course," Sakura retorted, not allowing any of the indignation implied by Ino's question into her voice, "Are you? I wasn't aware of your genjutsu talents,"

"Oi! Be careful what you say, forehead, we might just end up facing each other in that round – I'd just _hate_ to see you eating your words!" Sakura allowed a breath of laughter to escape, their rivalry might be very old, but they never missed an opportunity to pick at each other – although thankfully the years on them had made it more playful banter rather than angry, insecure posturing.

"I wonder how long we'll be here…and how they'll organise the tournament…I would imagine that the numbers will halved at each round,"

"Hmm," Ino agreed, "I'd think that too and I'd guess not much more than a week, depending on how many rounds each of the three take up…"

"Well, probably only one otherwise too many people would be disqualified and it would leave gaps for the later challenges."

"Hmm," Sakura's eyes wandered over the row of shops opposite her, spotting a small pharmacy-like shop, which advertised it herbal stocks; Sakura had brought her medic's pouch with her along with two of her usual shuriken and scroll holding pouches (her kunai pouch was always a given).

Sakura anticipated injuries for her team as well as her own chakra depletion and so stocked up on more herbs and 'conventional' medical materials before she left – usually her chakra could cope with almost anything, but field work was tricky and she wouldn't have any chakra to waste, not if she wanted to do well in the tournament, at least. Sakura rose to her feet decide to take a look at what herbs were stocked,

"I'm just going to take a look in the apothecary over there," Ino nodded, and said that she'd wait where she was for her friend, nodding in acknowledgement, Sakura walked over to it, silently wondering about what she do with Kakashi if he over used his sharingan. Even if he held out until after the competition, their return journey would be dire – Kakashi was a bit of a magnet and tended to attract the arrogant and foolhardy who wanted to prove themselves against him.

If Kakashi was injured or fatigued and any of the shinobi who though themselves unfairly disqualified, might well take the opportunity to attack him in his weakened state; whilst it wouldn't be much to fight them off, the rest of their team was liable to be relatively low on chakra and any subsequent fighting-then-healing would be especially costly.

At the very least, they'd have Suna in which to recuperate for a time and Sakura could only hope that – among the mercenary or rogue shinobi especially – none of them got any 'bright' ideas, especially without any tangible political ties, or formal military ranking, with which to hold them to good behaviour.

Even so, Sakura's time to fight had finally come around and she was really looking forward to proving herself and the might of Konoha.

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><p>An - High five to all of you who got the _Excel Saga_ reference in that – obscure (as in why the hell would he be there?), I know lol XD He won't be making any further appearances, though!


	29. Chapter 29

Ooh, I was amazed at the response chapter 28 elicited – I'm please you all enjoyed it so much and took the time to review! ^-^

Lol, I was watching the _Shippuden_ episode 55. "Wind" where Kakashi trains Naruto to develop his rasengan and it occurred to me, when he was explaining the kage bunshin bit, just how often Kakashi seemed to have to put up with people betting around him – lol somehow I get the feeling Kakashi isn't too impressed with Naruto sounding a lot like Gai in terms of enthusiasm, challenge and bets in that episode! XD

Hope you don't think this chapter is too ridiculous - I don't think its _too_ off-the-wall, but, as usual for my stories, pinches of salt are considered as standard! XD

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 29: Imaginary Feelings_

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><p>Kakashi resisted the urge to shift from one foot to the other as he stood with his fellow Leafs listening to the instructions for the tournament beginning tomorrow; Kakashi couldn't help but allow part of his mind to drift back to his rather awkward meeting with Sakura the evening before. He really had hoped to find a bit of time alone and the cool evening air was also welcomed, but as he found her there, her presence didn't bother him too much – her generally quiet and relaxing manner rarely failed to agree with him.<p>

He was comfortable chatting lightly with her and stood next to her – the immediate lack of ceremony to stand on brought greater relief than he might have anticipated.

He hadn't the slightest clue _what_ exactly happened then, he just found himself staring at her as she seemed to draw his entire attention, he'd felt as though he was searching for something in her expression, but he couldn't figure out what. In fact, it was only until she dragged her eyes away from his, that he noticed just how close he was and how that made him feel _uneasy_ rather than irritated, as it would with anyone else.

For a moment he'd fooled himself into thinking that he was the only one who'd noticed it but the speed at which she'd left (and her last, cursory glance which easily gave away her own unease) had told him otherwise. Although he couldn't quite figure any of it out, he was thankful that, the circumstances being what they were, he wouldn't have to explain himself – and that would no doubt ease the tension considerably…assuming nothing else happened.

Even now he was highly aware of the fact she was stood just behind him and to his left, not that that was unusually in itself (his entire life revolved around knowing precisely who was in his vicinity, and where) but he was rather unusually aware of her. Mentally letting out a sharp breath he forcibly turned his attention back to the Suna ANBU who began to explain about the tournament itself,

"The first round tomorrow will be genjutsu. The round will be on a sudden-death basis, no lethal strikes will be allowed, nor will serious or irreparable injury; the nin who are able to escape the genjutsu and return with one of their own to incapacitate their enemy, within the time limit, will progress to the next rounds. Please be aware that there will be civilian spectators present and any jutsu cast must not leave the perimeter of the arena floor.

"There will be one round only for the first two challenges, they being genjutsu and taijutsu respectively – for the final round of ninjutsu, there will be subsequent rounds until a single winner is decided." The nin paused for a moment to allow all of the information to be taken in; Kakashi looked over the crowd, there were approximately forty or so competitors, bit less perhaps.

Even from just his cursory glance, Kakashi could see the arrogance written over the faces of the younger and non-village associated nin, _how unexpected_, he thought sarcastically, allowing himself a tiny spark of self-assuredness of his own, oft proven, skills.

"The genjutsu round will begin tomorrow – everyone participating will need to arrive back here at precisely 9am where we will begin, further instructions will be given at that time." A few murmurs of acknowledgement rippled through the crowd,

"For those of you disqualified at any time, you must leave the tournament immediately…are there any questions?" The silence wasn't compete but no queries were apparently urgent enough to warrant voicing and the entire company was dismissed until tomorrow – Kakashi noted that they hadn't been given any idea what to expect, not really – this, he hoped, would prove interesting.

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><p>Sakura was stretching her arms over her head as she stood on the edge of the vast expanse of rock which stretched out from the base of the mountains until it was swallowed by the dunes; the arena was sunken slightly down so that there were stepped sides to allow for spectators. Either side was fairly smooth, flat rock which she had trouble decided if it was artificially induced or not; nonetheless, it was the flat expanse which seemed to be the basis for the arena's location and, hence, the tournament – which was due to begin except for a few remaining stragglers yet to arrive (Kakashi, of course, being among the number).<p>

Sakura subtly looked around the group of nin participating as well as the gaggle of those spectating, one of two adding to their numbers; one, seemed to wander up looking purposeful in a way which didn't sit well with the kuniochi. He gave the outward impression of being a nobody, his clothes were demure, his posture slumped and his expression bored; it was possible, that he was a man used to ninja and didn't much approve of them.

But that couldn't be right, for a man appearing to be so bored by their presence, he was certainly observing closely – although subtly – his eyes spending a few minutes on each person before shifting onto the next; Sakura might almost have felt as though she were on display were it not for Kakashi finally deciding to turn up and inadvertently forcing the man to move on and blend back into the shadows.

One of the ANBU nin appeared in front of the group, just as Kakashi sidled up looking thoroughly relaxed, the porcelain masked one addressed the group, a few teams of other ANBU behind him;

"The genjutsu round will begin in just a few minutes, once we descend down into the arena, where you will all stand within the blue delineated circle, not too close to anyone else; once the round has started, at my signal, you will then have an hour in which to free yourself from the jutsu. There is a blue circle surrounding the inner section of the floor, to signify that you have escaped the jutsu, you must leave the circle and wait until that round is called to a halt – after the hour is up, there may be further genjutsu challenges,"

A few younger nin laughed and murmured that it would easy now they knew how to win – and whilst that was true for most defeating jutsus, genjutsu tended to be more pervasive and was not something one could simply 'dodge' as they could a ninjutsu – genjutsu must be counteracted and that was always the primary trial with illusions. Their comments spoke of gross inexperience to the kuniochi and she wondered just how long they would last.

Sakura's eyes focused on the sudden darkness, as all of the others around her faded out just as a nin with a haitai-ate she didn't recognise stood in front of her, crouched and ready to strike. She didn't bother to lower her stance, instead she raised her hands in the classic seal whilst muttering 'kai'; nothing happened – she had anticipated this but it was silly to ignore a method because it might _seem_ to simple – overthinking, much like 'under-thinking' a situation, could be equally folly.

She had guessed, as soon as the hot desert sun appeared to be snuffed out of existence, that the skill of the genjutsu was abnormally high – and was reminiscent of the seal-based genjutsu Itachi had set in the hidden underground room in the Naka shrine – to break out of this one would take exceptional chakra control. Wherever the source was that was manipulation her chakra, it was intense enough that releasing it did nothing – or rather, the genjutsu was released, but since it wasn't 'broken off' so preventing the enemy's chakra from reaching out entirely, the release held for moments only before the manipulation started again.

Sakura slowed her breathing down to almost the point of meditation and ignored the enemy nin in front of her (who was currently tying a length of wire around the ring in the end of a kunai slowly and deliberately (a typical scare tactic)) and began to adapt her chakra flow, reversing its path through her head. Genjutsu worked on the basis of sense confusion – using a nin's own chakra against them to make them see, hear and feel (or perhaps smell and taste, if it were appropriate) things that weren't there or not recognise things that were.

Just as she tried to focus, her legs suddenly felt as though they had been turned to stone and forcibly bound to the floor, as much as she tired, she could not pick them up off the floor or move them below the knee. Sakura's eyes had since closed as she did her best to divert chakra away from her eyes, ears and brain – her concentration broke momentarily as she heard the swish of a thrown kunai and the feel of the razor sharp blade pierce her chest.

She grunted slightly in pain as the knife buried its way between her ribs and severed flesh as it went; having succumbed to such an injury in the past, it wasn't difficult for her mind to conjure up the image and painfulness of it again – which was probably why the genjutsu had her imagine such an injury.

Her arms twitched slightly, desperate to reach up to drag the blade from her and begin healing the near-fatal wound; she resisted however, and returned her attention to her chakra halting, reversing and redirecting its flow in a near constantly so that her enemy didn't stand a chance of reading and manipulating the stream.

She opened her eyes to see the nin in front of her flicker slightly, the pain in her chest disappear and the darkness wane to reveal sand at her feet and the heat of the sun on her back in her peripheral vision, she caught sight of a wide, blue line a few feet to her left: _there!_ As her concentration faltered for the split second it took for her mind to register the significance of what she saw, everything faded to black again and the nin grinned maliciously,

"Think you can escape?" Sakura ignored him and again focussed her chakra, immediately drew as smuch of it into her torso so as to redirect it from within her head; the per se 'real world' flickered and again disappeared as soon as it had faded into view, but she knew it was a fault of the illusion. She kept trying to focus, but each time she was close to disrupting the chakra flow enough, the 'nin' kept slashing at her with a kunai, slicing into her leg, causing it to shake with the depth of the injury - although she still couldn't move it) or he would loop an arm around her neck and hold the cool tip of the blade to her eyelid, working with her fear of losing such a vital organ to intimidate her.

She remained steady, however, well used to the psychological impact of genjutsu and kept her focus unwavering and just as she could feel the sharp, nearly ragged feeling edge of the blade seemed to cut into the delicate skin on her neck, she finally disrupted enough of her chakra to interfere with the flow more fully in such a way that the darkness again faded and Sakura bent her knees and sprang up, the weight on them mysteriously dissipating.

She leapt over to where she could see the thick blue runner delineating the edge of what she assumed to be the the jutsu field and crossed it whilst she could still see it, although it was becoming a hazy image. As soon as she landed outside of the circle, she immediately raised her hands and chanted 'kai', the world immediately sorting itself to rights and all of her 'injuries' fading to mere itches from the thought of the blade.

She looked around, seeing a vast majority of the other participants still within the circle, most lightly twitching or bending (as well as more than a few grunts or curses) unable to resist the instinct to dodge from a potential threat; the sight fairly amusing to an unaffected eye. Dotted around on the outside of the circle were approximately six or so other nin, two of whom were familiar: Kakashi – which was unsurprising, his sharingan allowing him to immediately see through any jutsu presented to him – and the other Kurenai.

Most of the others were shinobi she didn't recognise, from Lightening, Earth and Mist and another whom she couldn't see the haitai-ate. She stepped back a little, looking down at the ribbon of seals – what they were became clear upon closer inspection – and there were, at regular intervals, Suna ANBU were crouched over, pushing their chakra into the circle. A few more nin leapt out of the circle and released themselves from the jutsu, one of which was Ino and another haitai-ate-less shinobi.

The pink-haired kuniochi allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief at having passed the first challenge – she hadn't been certain how they'd approach the genjutsu, one-on-one seemed too predictable, but casting a mass-jutsu and the utilisation of seals was fairly novel – and the intensity of such a jutsu was certain to weed out those who were weak with illusions.

The time it took for the genjutsu round to finally be over was astounding; the numbers which passed the first round were considered to be too high (there being only eight to ten who didn't escape the jutsu within the allotted hour, thankfully none of which were the Leafs) hence the ANBU set up secondary traps and illusions. They were on a far smaller scale and much more subtle and therefore trickier to defeat – genjutsu detection took real skill (when it wasn't something glaringly obvious such as they sky falling in).

The ANBU kept changing tiny aspects of the environment – such as the diameter of the seal circle by a few inches – but Sakura's natural chakra control meant that she could easily detect when it was being messed with and hence, she didn't necessarily need to be able to _see_ something as out of place to know it to be. Every now and then, she kept having to chant 'kai' and randomise her chakra flow to prevent herself being caught again; as the ANBU drifted around the occupants of the arena floor.

Sakura took the opportunity, whilst she was free, to cast a genjutsu around herself, making it appear as though she was stood still, trapped within an illusion; the real one leapt away over to where the primary examiner was stood - suffering no interference from other Suna ANBU, at one end of the arena and faced him. He looked at her for a few moments as she dispelled the jutsu around her and he commented that she had passed and was directed to a small seating area (she checked her chakra was un-manipulated and nodded in acknowledgment, thinking what a cruel trick that would otherwise have been) where a few nin were already resting.

Among them Yamato and Kurenai both of whom smiled as she took a seat next to them, they commented that they too had noticed the ANBU seemed to have picked out a few favourites to tease and that Kakashi was apparently among that number.

Eventually, they were dismissed from the grounds as the Suna ANBU were satisfied that the numbers had been cut sufficiently and all qualifiers trudged off to rest for the spare few hours before dinner would be served – Suna being kind enough to provide meals since there wasn't enough in the way of restaurants in the tiny village in which they were situated.

Sakura returned to the tent she shared with her fellow Leaf competitors feeling quite fatigued, she had to admit, she was glad that she would be face the taijutsu only competition tomorrow, giving her time to store up as much chakra as possible before she had to use it to its fullest potential in the ninjutsu rounds.

She hadn't really used too much in the way of chakra, but she had been forced to manipulate it to a much higher degree than what she was used for her basic ninjutsu – Sakura also personally found that being under a genjutsu tended to make her feel quite chakra-fatigued. The interference of another and their chakra, she found, disrupted the natural flow of chakra through her body (aside from that being a key feature of genjutsu) and as a consequence, took quite a lot for her to return the flow to normal.

Before long, Yamato appeared outside their tent and they all went together to dinner, pleased that they all would progress to the next round of taijutsu – they laughed a little at what might happen if any of them had to face each other. They ambled slowly, surrounded by the other competitors a number of whom were fiercely grumbling at how they'd lost in the first round as they shouldered their packs and prepared to leave.

Sakura couldn't really blame them for being so grumpy – she too would be a foul mood had she come so far to do so badly – still there were a fair few left and most (especially the men) where riled up for the more tangible (and somehow, therefore more meaningful) hand-to-hand combat fights. They entered the mess tent and collected bowlfuls of meagre – although wholesome – food; rice and steamed vegetable were all of what was on offer, as well as tea, but it was swiftly devoured nonetheless.

They all sat together some talking more than others – Ino, Raiden and Yamato seemed to be the most talkative; Sakura kept her eyes open, but remained silent.

The pink-haired kuniochi drained the last of her cup of tea – signifying the end of her meal – and paused as she subtly looked around the room, a vast majority of nin were still sat around and chatting with each other; Sakura took her moment and rose to her feet picking up her tray or now empty plates.

"I think I'm going to take a walk, I'll see you guys later…" Her eyes shifted over to where the men were sat, "Or tomorrow," She smiled lightly, alerting the others to her levity; they returned with their own grins and a few nods, she turned and walked to place her tray on the side before wandering away, ducking out of the large mess tent.

She relished the cool night air as she slid her hands into her trouser pockets thinking back to whom she'd seen sat in the corner of the tent; again he appeared to surreptitiously observe the room - just as he had done before the start of the challenge. He shouldn't even have been in the room, considering his lack of participation in the competition, yet no one seemed to have noticed – or at least minded his presence.

Sakura wasn't sure what to make of it, her instincts told her to be wary, yet he hadn't made any move – she wondered if the ANBU had their eyes on him and if so, what they were waiting for – she rounded past by the ends of the tents and paused, uncertain of which direction to take.

"Do mind some company?" Sakura turned to face Kakashi as he stepped out from behind the end of the marquee, looking as casual as ever,

"Sure," He took a few steps closer, his posture guarded in the way Sakura wasn't used to when they were alone, "You ready for tomorrow?" He nodded and tugged a hand out of his pocket,

"Hai, it's been a while since I've fought with taijutsu only," He held a look which told Sakura he had something to say but felt unable to voice his concerns, Sakura gave no signal that she too noticed the presence close by, watching their interaction;

"Ah, that's right, you won't be allowed to use your sharingan, will you?" He shook his head, allowing his eye to obviously look her up and down, giving Sakura a clear signal as to how he was planning on proceeding; she lifted her hands out of her pockets and planted them on her hips, cocking her head to the side slightly as a silent invitation.

"You noticed him too?" Kakashi asked as soon as he was close enough for him to whisper in her ear and slid his hand around her waist to rest on the small of her back as he tugged her to his chest at the same time; both his hands moving to slide up her sides as she wound her arms around his shoulders, leaning up to whisper in his ear. Neither feeling particularly comfortable with play-acting that they were meeting for a…_rendezvous _rather than a discussion on whom they were finding suspicious, but their instincts tended not to lie and both were professional enough to pretend so as not to alert the one they found _most_ suspicious to their real reason.

"I saw him before, just as the genjutsu tournament was beginning, he seemed to spend quite a while looking around – and again in the mess tent," Kakashi had since fitted his masked lips to her neck and she allowed her hands to wander restlessly over his back and up into his hair,

"Hmm, I saw him too, he knows the town well, but I'm certain he doesn't live here," He shifted to nip her jaw and down her neck as his hand drifted up to tangle in her hair so that he could urge her head to the side and expose her neck. She shifted her hands down between them to tug down his flak jacket zip, splitting the heavy jacket open, sliding her hands up his chest, secretly revelling in the feel of his taught muscles,

"I can't tell if he's shinobi or not and I haven't yet seen him talk to anyone…I'm not sure what to anticipate – and attack seems unlikely, but that's probably a part of it, to divert attention," Her lips brushed over the shell of his ear as she spoke, she didn't quite intend to but couldn't help it; his wandering hands were proving unnervingly distracting.

He shifted to begin kissing the other side of her neck as she swapped arms around her waist, his hand massaging her hip; he didn't need to fake the groans of pleasure at having Sakura fitted to so well to him and at having free reign to run his hands over the agreeable curves of her waist and hips. He made his way back up to her ear in preparation to say something else but the voice of a thoroughly scandalised Raiden cut across-

"_Captain!_" Sakura and Kakashi parted just enough to turn their heads in the direction of the voice, to see Raiden with his mouth open slightly, looking as though he'd just seen the biggest outrage he could imagine;

"Beat it," Kakashi growled as he tightened his grip on Sakura, who's hands has slid down to rest on his chest, as he'd stood up straighter, greatening their height difference;

"-But…Sakura-taichou…" Raiden looked almost terrified, as though he hadn't a clue what to do, but knew he couldn't well leave his captain and her once-teacher and current friend in such a compromising position; Kakashi involuntarily tightened his grip on Sakura as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, pretending to continue attending to him, and could feel the manic grin on her lips even through the material of his mask-tank top, betraying her amusement at Raiden's reaction,

"I said get out of here, kid," Kakashi didn't _quite_ intend his voice to come out so low or threatening but the younger shinobi was only adding to his frustration – he'd been desperately trying to keep his grip on himself so as _not to_ get aroused, even though he really wanted to let go and enjoy whatever Sakura was offering. His sense of reality was stronger – the trust, teamwork and friendship between them was something he hadn't had in a long time and that was infinitely more important than one night of sin with her – even if it was really, _really_ tempting – and he hadn't even had any direct skin to skin contact.

Raiden gulped and turned before beating a hasty retreat, disappearing as soon as he'd appeared and Kakashi returned his attention to the kuniochi resting against his chest, currently doing her best to resist bursting into laughter;

"You shouldn't be so mean to him," She playfully chastised, for the benefit of their third-party voyeur, Kakashi merely made a dismissive grunting noise, signifying that he didn't care,

"He shouldn't interrupt two obviously busy people," Sakura grinned again in amusement of his response, her glee easily visible this time; she pulled back slightly, definitely able to feel the chill of night air previously negated by the warmth of his body,

"Hmm…but he _has_ got a big mouth and he's probably back at the tent telling everyone – and you know what a busybody Yamato-taichou is," She made to step well out of his grasp – both of them knowing that the elder shinobi would understand what they were doing by their actions, but Sakura was now uncomfortably aware of just what position they were in and worried slightly for her ability to keep up the act of turning on the Copy Nin,

"Hmm," He didn't look too pleased at her decision to end it – but Sakura really couldn't decide if that was his acting or whether they still needed to talk, or… She found herself involuntarily licking over her dry lips an action carefully observed by him,

"Maybe we could continue this somewhere a bit more private, sometime? Unfortunately now, I have to go and prepare for tomorrow...thanks for the bit of respite," She turned on her heel, desperately trying not to blush at her own words; Kakashi suddenly gripped her hips and pulled her back, flush to his body, fitting his lips to her ear and whispering as lowly as possible;

"Keep up the act of what might be happening between us to those two, but have them keep their eyes open – Kurenai will understand but Ino might not, don't give anything away and I'll have Yamato on the lookout…I see no harm in keeping Raiden in the dark for now, it'll make it more convincing," Sakura couldn't quite resist a sly smile, her voice full of carnal mischief,

"You're so demanding! Are you planning on making me work this hard for you in bed?" She suddenly jerked her hips back slightly into his before walking away – pulling out of his grasp before he could tighten it – Kakashi powerless to stop her as that damn final action finally broke the tiny thread on his control and was forced to slouch down and stuff his hands into his pockets to hide what would otherwise be an embarrassingly obvious trouser-tent - even though it would have been..._in keeping_ with the turn of events.

He ambled slowly back in the vague direction of his marquee desperately trying to will his arousal to fade, but the feel of Sakura beneath his hands wasn't quite so easy to forget…maybe it was just the fact he hadn't sought out female companionship for so long that was getting to him. When he finally arrived back to where his bed was, he found Yamato still up and looking quite unimpressed – Raiden was already in his bed and no doubt pretending to be asleep out of embarrassment,

"Kakashi-sampai, Raiden told me what happened," _Apparently Sakura wasn't kidding in saying Raiden has a big mouth_, "It will only cause trouble to get involved with her," Kakashi sighed, knowing the subordinate well enough to know that most of it was probably for show – although there was a touch of genuine concern in his voice, he always was such a good teammate;

"They were just a few kisses, Yamato, nothing's going to come of it,"

"That's not how Raiden described it; it's a bad distraction,"

"We're not thirteen, we know when to call it quits – why do you think I'm back so early…or alone?" He shrugged nonchalantly, but inside he wanted to laugh, arriving back on his own should have been the biggest signal of all that little had come of it, Kakashi pulled off his vest and over shirt, shoes, pouches and haitai-ate, dropping them beside his bed before slumping down onto to it.

Little images of a naked and naughty Sakura were flitting around his preparing-for-sleep brain, his powerful imagination already able to feel her hands drifting over him, to far more arousing places than where she'd ventured earlier – his recently faded arousal jerking back to attention.

Squeezing his eyes shut for a few minutes, hoping to erase the images, although knowing it impossible – not only was Yamato right, the distraction was dangerous, but that he really did _not_ want to screw up his (newly-restored) friendship with the kuniochi; real friends were hard to come by and even harder to keep with their dangerous lifestyles.

Not only that, but romantic entanglements of any sort tended to end disastrously – and something the Copy Nin made a personal mission to avoid as best he could. Sighing, he slipped under the covers and did his best not to think about how it would feel to kiss Sakura without his mask on, or how her skin might feel under his fingertips – and for the pleasure of it, rather than for a show to deflect suspicion.

He awoke just after dawn, his dreams had been vivid, as usual, feeling strangely well rested he resisted the urge to sigh in contentment whilst he stared at the tent wall he was facing. As he rolled onto his back in preparation to get up, he realised exactly _why_ he not only felt so relaxed, but also just _why _it was a good thing he was facing away from the rest of the tent. He hadn't woken up in such a sticky mess for a long time, _Kami, what door had he opened which should have been kept closed?_

He closed his eye again and took a moment to calm himself, before rising to his feet swiftly and turning to divest himself of all lower garments before replacing them with fresh ones in seconds, silently cursing himself for being so weak as he re-bandaged his shins and clipped his pouches back to his belt. Yamato and Raiden were nowhere in sight which was another good thing – he prayed that he hadn't made any noises or done anything to make it obvious what the topic of his dreams were about, but he had no way to know and would just play it cool.

Pretending he _hadn't _just woken up in a cooled pool of his own climax as a result of dreams induced by having his hands all over his once student and _current_ friend as a display to hide their conversation, he slipped from the tent to prepare for the second day of the tournament. _Damn, _if this were in an _Icha Icha_ novel, he would still be laughing at the scenario – he just hoped that things with Sakura wouldn't be so awkward when they next faced each other – at least he could be thankful she hadn't felt his arousal when they were so close.

He hoped too, that their little display hadn't been for nothing and that if their..._voyeur_ really was suspicious, then they had genuinely deflected mistrustful attention from themselves, allowing them to be dismissed as no one to particularly guard against.


	30. Chapter 30

I wonder why I bother sometimes with my initial 'A/n's at the beginning of stories, see my rambling about "…Short…only 3 chapters…something sweet rather than a sexual piece…" For those of you who already read _I Missed Again_ – I'd imagine you'd already realised this – but I always seem to end up contradicting myself thoroughly! Oh well! [she says on chapter _30_…] I got carried away with this story and I couldn't help but keep on writing for it!

Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to review! They inspire me to really knuckle down and finish the bits I sometimes get writers' block on! Lol...

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 30: Clash! An Unexpected Rivalry! _

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><p>Sakura silently cursed whatever Kami-sama there might be for putting her in this position; admittedly there were a number of factors to blame, but they weren't doing much to ease her embarrassment. Sighing to herself, she gripped the edges of the tray more tightly and pushed her humiliation away, instead pasting a diminutive, but by no means fake or sour smile on her face,<p>

"Morning, did you sleep well?" This probably wasn't the best question to ask as Raiden immediately blanched and Kakashi cleared his throat slightly, his eyes _well_ averted;

"H-hai, Taichou," Sakura busied herself with eating breakfast rather than stirring up the proverbial waters anymore and had eaten almost half of her meal before Kakashi chose to speak up,

"How do you think they'll organise the taijutsu? I'd think that's more likely to be one-on-one," She nodded,

"I'd think so too…it might well be too difficult to separate out those who qualify otherwise…besides, taijutsu is almost always against a single opponent,"

"Hmm, that's true," Sakura met Kakashi's eye finally as she took a swig, his expression was carefully guarded but seemed unusually intense and he showed little sign of wavering; Sakura couldn't seem to fight the blush on her cheeks as she swiftly refocused her attention to her breakfast, ignoring Raiden's pointed stare. Not a moment too soon, Kakashi rose to his feet, lifting his tray,

"I'll see you in half an hour at the arena," Sakura mustered the courage to look up and nod in acknowledgement, but he'd already turned and wandered away, the kuniochi breathed a small sigh of both relief and concern – had last night caused more damage than it'd repaired? Her body had literally tingled as she walked back to her tent, the feel of his large hands skimming over parts of her she didn't even think were sensitive; she tried to sleep – and eventually did so – but not before her mind had managed to create several hundred scenarios of them in a similar position and steps further.

It worried her that she didn't find them half as disturbing as she might have anticipated and, in fact, she _did_ find him to be an attractive man. Although this by itself wasn't particularly unusual (and the thought had crossed her mind before) it was more worrying in an…_interactive_ sense, if she and Kakashi had to continue pretending to be crossing a few physical boundaries of their bond, she worried slightly for their current, platonic relationship.

They'd locked horns more than a few times in the past and had a few disagreements, but she'd rather not give up the comfortable connection because her emotional control was not up to standard. As she analysed it , Sakura had been able to compartmentalise what had happened (and her subsequent reactions) well enough to drift to sleep – she'd been certain that Kakashi had thought little of it, it was no doubt a tactic he'd been forced to employ in the past and was therefore able to detach himself.

But what was that look in his eye during breakfast? She couldn't read it, but intuition told her there was _something_ to it, that there was an edge – did he feel as uncomfortable as she? Did she have some effect upon him? Had she laid it on a bit too thick?

"Um, Taichou? We need to get going,"

"Hmm?" Sakura look up to meet his eyes, which were averted down to his empty bowls, "Oh, right," They both rose to their feet and were walking towards the grounds slowly; Sakura chose that moment to try and clear the air, "Raiden, I apologise for last night…its, uh, a little embarrassing and I certainly didn't intent for it to happen...I'm sorry that you got caught in it," She could easily see her subordinate's stiff posture, betraying how uncomfortable he was, "Kakashi and I were just caught in the moment and you happened turned up at a bad time,"

"…Hai, I…understand," He didn't sound as though he did,

"Just put it out of your mind, we've got a tournament to win, alright?"

"Hai, Taichou,"

"Good," Sakura purposefully ignored the remaining tension in the shinobi as they both strode towards the arena, Sakura hoping that whatever tension was still remaining, would be successfully dissipated by a good spar. Sakura subconsciously checked her pouches – the weaponry and medicinal both – as she walked, her mind focussing on likely tactics to be used against her and what strategies she could use which would catch even the most sharp witted out.

Most of the other participants had found their way to the small waiting area for those yet to compete, she made her way down the steps, there weren't too many spectators and they were all fairly spread out – those close enough murmuring to each other. Sakura pulled her hair up into a loose bun as she walked and tugged on her favoured fighting gloves.

Sakura took her seat in the small cordoned off area within the arena for the shinobi waiting for their time to participate (and to return to after their fight as appropriate) a few other nin filed in behind her. Kakashi wandered in after everybody else, which wasn't the unusual thing about him, his left eye was carefully bandaged, his haitai-ate was sat upon his forehead horizontally, just as any other shinobi – to Sakura and the other Leafs, he was a strange sight indeed.

"Ohayo," He, as usual, appeared unfazed,

"Oh! Kakashi-sampai, I was wondering how they would ensure you could not use your sharingan," Yamato was the first to voice his surprise,

"Hn, it's been a while since I've had a serious spar without the use of it, but I'm sure I'm up to the challenge," He grinned and cocked his head to the side slightly, easily telegraphing his levity as a few of the other young shinobi scoffed and nudged each other at hearing the Copy Nin's words. The main assessor for the tournament arrived to address the group – whose numbers had been significantly reduced – just over half remaining of the original number; the examiner was flanked by several Suna ANBU,

"The tournament will begin in moments; it will consist of one-on-one spars where the names will be randomly drawn together by the use of the electronic sorter – the two names will be displayed on the screen over there will be each sparring pair," He paused to draw attention to a large computerised screen, much like the one used for the Chuunin third-round-preliminaries,

"If your name is drawn you must participate and the fight will commence until a clear winner is decided. General sparring rules apply, including no lethal strikes and no chakra usage or soldier pills or any other artificial enhancement – use of kunai and shuriken are permitted to a limited degree, they are used to help decide a winner, not to show off with, understood?"

A murmur of agreement ran through the group, "All participants will return here until todays matches are finished and you have been dismissed, after which all losers will be discharged from the tournament and must return home…Be aware we are prepared to immediately disqualify any participant who violates these rules and all decisions made are final – there will be no reconsiderations. Is that clear? Are there any questions?"

Silence fell for a few moments as all nin digested what had been said, having paused for a few moments, the examiner decided that no further discussion was necessary and hence turned on his heel, to walk into the centre of the arena, the ANBU leaping away three positioning themselves outside of the circle, able to observe the fights and a few others leaping further way to the midst of the observers,

"The second stage of the circle tournament will begin: the taijutsu competition will commence shortly with one-on-one spars of a single round each. The first competitors are-" He looked over to the large screen which flashed into life and not a second later two names appeared on the screen: "Yamato Vs. Uukai Hotsu," Sakura saw both men rise to their feet and file out, quietly, and walk over to the centre of the circle; the bowed to each other as the proctor stepped back with a shout for them to begin.

Both shinobi ducked for a moment, pausing to observe each other before striking; Yamato made the first move, his strikes hard and fast and favouring his fists. Sakura watched carefully as Yamato allowed his feet to move him swiftly and often, never remaining still for long; this worked well against an opponent who was fairly bulky and seemed a shinobi not well suited to agility based sparring – no doubt the Kusa shinobi was used to hard, fast and lethal strikes.

Much like Sakura herself, back in her Chuunin days, he was offering strikes with a one-touch-kill; from her own experience, these types of hitters tended to have relatively low stamina and held specialties elsewhere – their taijutsu up to a decent standard as a means to preserve themselves and their chakra until they could make full use of their power at a later time. Yamato, being an ANBU captain, definitely had the upper hand in the fight and it didn't take long for the Leaf to assert himself as the clear winner.

Sakura watched carefully for the next six matches during which Raiden, Ino and Kurenai all fought and the two kuniochi lost – Sakura thought Kurenai's loss was particularly unfortunate, for she had her enemy (another female participant) on the losing side for most of the battle, but just as the Leaf held her blade to her enemy's throat, said kuniochi found the strength to lift her own kunai to Kurenai's stomach.

The examiner took his time, but decided that, due to the angle, Kurenai would not have been able to escape and defeat her opponent without being mortally wounded herself and considered it a double knock-out. Ino's defeat had also been unfortunate in that she was paired with a man who rivalled Lee in his speed and agility and, to be honest, as good as Ino was, she just wasn't a match for him (Sakura frankly doubted anyone _besides_ Lee would be a match for him and was thankful she hadn't been selected as his sparring partner).

She was pleased Raiden had passed his spar, he was pitted against a kuniochi from Iwa, who was very flighty and it took Raiden the longest time so far of all the spars to finally bring down his opponent; he had managed it, though not before received what was probably a fractured rib and what Sakura imagined to be a hefty bruise on his thigh from her. As the two most recent opponents retreating off the floor, the computer screen began flickering through the remaining names again, the examiner observed before calling out the next two adversaries;

"Next: Haruno Sakura," She sat up a little at the sound of her own name, "Versus Hatake Kakashi," She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the selection, _really?_ They both found each other's gaze as they rose to their feet and walked out to the centre of the arena floor.

"Hmm, this will prove amusing, don't you think? I won't go easy on you Sakura-chan," Kakashi's typical casual arrogance was laced through his voice as he spoke once they were far enough away from the rest of the tournament participants, she chose not to bother answering. Reaching the centre of the circle they turned to face each other, bowing politely, they crouched and eyed each other carefully;

"Begin," Kakashi made the first move, lunging with a punch which Sakura blocked, allowing herself to be slid back with the force of the blow, a good gauge – he was serious, just about as serious as she. She darted towards him, throwing her weight to her left, which to the non kekkei genkai enhanced eye, would signify her intention to throw a punch with her right fist; he moved as she expected, lifting his left to block her as she used the momentum carried to grip his raised arms and yank him off balance.

The kuniochi twisted and threw a sharp kick to his ribs, Kakashi leapt back putting some distance between them, aware of just how skilled a taijutsu fighter she was to throw him so completely. His punches and kicks flowed together with the grace earned by decades of training, his natural sense of timing was impeccable for every strike he made was followed up by a secondary one.

Normally, his approach of strikes was enough to take out any enemy, but Sakura had a number of advantages over him, her agility was unsurpassed as she easily weaved out of the way of each strike and was able to read him enough to predict the second, and use it to her advantage by throwing a kick or a punch to his unguarded body. Without the use of his sharingan, he had to move around much more that he would have otherwise, so as to minimise Sakura's options; the strength in the punches was belied by her slender form, which was well suited to the close quarters fighting.

She squared up and struck, he easily caught her forearm solidly absorbing the blow before he twisted to send an elbow into her solar plexus; Sakura blocked him, but they reached a deadlock, neither moving. They struggled against each other for a few moments, Sakura easily able to feel the strength of the hand around her arm and the force behind the upper arm she was blocking; both she and Kakashi were panting slightly, the exertion required simply by remaining tense was more than expected.

She locked eye with him for a moment and could feel a sharp spike at the realisation of his proximity, his sharp breaths almost deafening in the strange silence of the surrounding ring; they paused for a split second before they both moved again Kakashi flicking his arm around to jam his fist into her torso. If Sakura had tensed a second later, she would have been scuppered, but she was merely forced backwards from the force of the blow, rather than knocked flat; taking a moment to think objectively, she knew from experience Kakashi liked to lead with punches before switching to kicks for the finishing moves, so all she'd need, was to play a patience game.

Tensing her legs, she leapt forward again and, knowing Kakashi would try to stop her attack as soon as possible and so his strike was perfectly timed to counter-strike hers, but Sakura deflected his punch and blocked his second, waiting for him to bring in the kick. As he did so, Sakura was careful to time her ducking underneath so that (not only would he senes it beofre hand and move to stop it) but so that she could snap her return kick to the back of the knee on his pivoting leg; as expected, he crumbled, into the blow and hit the dirt, Sakura switched her own pivoting legs and brought her now raised left leg around and down onto his ribs.

The blow connected but she wasn't quite fast enough in retracting the leg to avoid the large hand clamping around her ankle and tugging her off balance, his free hand gripping her thigh to pull her right down to the ground as he hurled himself over her and straddled her hips. He was about another move away from claiming victory, but Sakura drew momentum from her legs and jerked her knees into his back and threw her weight to the left at the same time she gripped the edge of his flak jacket.

The suddenness of her movement and the sheer amount of force she was able to muster, despite her disadvantage, caught the Copy Nin off-guard and their positions were reversed in seconds. Sakura had manoeuvred his right arm beneath his head, his right wrist held in her left hand, with her forearm restraining his left arm, she was semi-crouched over him, so that her bent leg could apply enough pressure to his to hold it down, as her right hand held a kunai to his throat.

She was acutely aware of just how close she was to him, and how tight her shin was pressing against what was essentially his inner thigh, which, apart from denying him any leverage with which to kick her off, was also something of an intimate position and so inadvertently held her attention.

They connected eyes again and she was close enough to see that it was open wide, his pupil seemingly unnaturally large for the brightness of the day and his breathing more laboured than she might have expected from a man of his fitness level; caught in the moment, she wasn't sure how long they were frozen there, but she nearly jumped to her feet as the examiner forced their attention off each other and back onto the world around them,

"Winner: Haruno Sakura," It was only as she let go of his wrist and sat up to pocket her kunai that she realised Kakashi had been exerting no return pressure – she might almost have been fooled into thinking that he'd been as caught up in that moment as she. The kuniochi rose to her feet and was swiftly followed by Kakashi, who brushed himself off, they began walking back over to the waiting area as Sakura, against better judgment, found herself unable to resist saying,

"Well, _sensei_, I really am glad you didn't go easy on me…it might not have been so fun, otherwise," She offered a deceptively innocent smile as Kakashi's eye briefly narrowed, easily telegraphing his displeasure; as they walked fairly slowly back towards the area, Sakura felt very aware of all of the eyes on her, even the participants – all of them – seemed to be ogling the two. They returned and took their seats (not quite next to each other) in complete silence,

"Next participants: Orikuru Ishi versus Tsuki Akane," The two next contenders slowly rose to their feet and stalked out to centre of the ring, as Ino began to manically grin at Sakura, whilst she plopped down beside her,

"Damn, Forehead, that was a sweet win!" Sakura rolled her eyes,

"Oh, really?" Her voice was heavily laced with playful sarcasm, as Ino's voice seemed to have broken the awkward silence and a few murmurs which sounded suspiciously like '_Copy Nin doesn't seem so great, now,'_ But Sakura knew very well that if Kakashi had his sharingan unleashed then the fight would have gone very differently – the young nin smirking at someone who didn't seem so impressed hadn't a clue at Kakashi's real ability and the chances were that if they ever faced him in a serious fight on the battle field, the odd were _heavily_ in Kakashi's favour. Said silver-haired nin merely shifted his gaze to the boys in the corner,

"Hmm? Do you have something to say to me?" Two of them shrank back, but the third looked smug,

"Yea, I thought you were supposed to be the great Copy-Nin…but how great can you be if you got beaten by a girl?"

"Well, considering the fact that I've been serving as a shinobi since before you were probably even born, I don't feel the need to beat up a woman to reassert my skill or masculinity," Kakashi smoothly pulled out his book as he spoke and Sakura couldn't quite help her eyebrow from twitching slightly at the man's implication that he lost on purpose, but she thought better of alerting anyone else to the fact and forced herself to look as relaxed as possible – thereby implying that _she_ knew she'd won as a result of her own skills.

The smug bastard in the corner snapped his mouth shut at Kakashi's retort (and his obvious lack of interest in what the younger nin had been saying) and began to sulk for not seeming as 'cool' or in being the minority of his opinion of Kakashi, so thankfully remained silent thereafter.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, as looked out over the arena her eyes following – but not really watching – the fight currently raging; _Inner Sakura _was holding more of her attention as he was stood with her hands on her hips and a sly smile on her face,

_What?_

_I know I've said it before, but he really is an attractive man, isn't he?_

_Stop this! Don't you dare go there!_

_Why not? The man's definitely one of the best lookers we have the opportunity to ogle recently! Besides, he's proved that he's not passed it, hasn't he?_

_Shut up! He's our friend and screwing it up by screwing him is definitely a _stupid_ idea!_

_Aa, you're such a prude…look at him, he wants it too! He was really aroused! _

_Baka, he wasn't!_

_You're a medic, you know the more subtle signs of arousal – his pupils were dilated, his breathing erratic and he definitely had a blush on his face!_

_You're too simple, we were also sparring and all of those things can also be attributed to physical exertion,_

_Now you're talking! You can't hide from me how sexy you thought he looked when you were straddling him – his cheeks were a little red and he was panting slightly – makes you think of how he look in a similar position, after another form of 'physical exertion' with a few less clothes, ne? Although…having said that, those trousers really do flaunt his arse in the best possible way! Next time, get him to fight you in that skin-tight tank top of his and his boxers – that would be best!_

"Grr!" Sakura couldn't quite supress the growl from escaping her, at her frustration from _Inner Sakura's_ goading; making Ino look at her strangely, the pink-haired medic managed to recover slightly by pretending she was irritated at the kuniochi currently sparring made a stupid mistake and allowed herself open for a nasty kick. Sakura ran a hand through her hair and tried to focus on the world around her instead of thinking about finding herself in a position far too intimate - with her ex-sensei - for the bounds of their relationship…even if they'd come dangerously close to crossing that line the evening before, _Kami-sama__!_

Sakura desperately hoped that she was merely overeacting from the naturally somewhat 'provocative' nature of close quarters hand-to-hand – for its very definition brought people far closer, physically, than what was normal for friendly terms, and there were times when that could be extremely uncomfortable or awkward.

Surely, she had been more responsive and aware of it than normal due to the circumstances being what they were and that she couldn't remember the last time she'd ever been in that sort of position with Kakashi; initially due to the vast skill discrepancy between them, and then later, when they fought, it had been on a more mid-range ninjutsu level, so she had never gotten used to being quite so close to him before. 

_Inner Sakura_ raised an eyebrow of disbelief at her rationalisation but Sakura brushed it aside and forcefully told herself and her inner, that it was just awkward circumstance and that she had been the only one to notice their mutual proximity (and the fact it had actually affected her).

* * *

><p>Kakashi's attention appeared to be focussed on reading <em>Icha Icha Tactics<em> but his mind was drifting more the kuniochi he'd just been sparring with; her proximity at the end of the spar – when she'd been both beneath and above him – had caught him off guard. He'd known how good she was at taijutsu after her training with Gai – as well as her earlier training under Tsunade – both of whom had taught her some of the finer subtleties associated with the combat form.

What he hadn't known or anticipated was how her proximity might have affected him; he should have, of course, knowing how her proximity had affected him the night before…but that had been an act and their touches had been with the intent to mimic intimate behaviour, _this_ had been a spar and just as he seated himself on her hips, intending to pull out a kunai, she'd somehow managed to distract him.

She looked just as good when crouched over him, too, her face was a little flushed and her hair mussed slightly, a few strands stuck to her neck; what had really got him about the position, was that he was incredibly conscious of how feminine and petite she seemed – despite the fact she was in the dominant position. That he could almost sense how much smaller than himself she was, yet possessed an equal strength and that was something he found strangely alluring – so much so, he was confronted by the urge to try and overpower her…but not in the brutal, violent sense the spar demanded.

Kakashi only just managed to supress a sigh at the direction his thoughts were taking him in just as he heard Sakura growl slightly, _Kami, this woman had to know exactly what she was doing to him and took pleasure in torturing him…_

Kakashi suppressed his dangerous thoughts before they ran away with him and forced himself to focus on his book silently cursing himself as memories of the evening before (as well as some of last night's dreams) attacked him, _the only saving grace_, he thought ruefully as the current spar came to an end, _was that you at least managed to control yourself enough not to get hard_…_that would surely have been unbearable, in every sense of the word! _

Kakashi had to admit, to himself at least, that his ego didn't feel nearly as dented as he might have expected at losing to Sakura – he felt proud at what a competent shinobi she'd become – having obviously leapt over her previous weakness in taijutsu for it to be at, now, such an incredibly high standard. But besides that, he also couldn't help but think that, as she had once been his student, he had hoped, one day, she too would surpass him (no matter how unlikely he'd oft thought it) which she had done so –_ and _due to her own skills rather than his age.

Even _if _he could probably still have beaten her, without the sharingan, had he been a decade younger (he granted himself that, at least).

The second day of testing had come to a close and there were ten remaining competitors due to face each other in the final round the next day. All of the nin wandered off back towards their tents; Kurenai, Ino and Kakashi to pack up their things and leave - they'd been allowed to return to Suna and wait there before they all returned to Konoha together, if they so wished – which they did, certain the ninjutsu rounds would only take a day to complete.

The three remaining Leafs said goodbye-until-no-doubt-tomorrow to their companions, who had wished them luck – their own disappointment obvious at not being allowed to remain to observe the fights. Sakura and Kakashi had kept a polite distance from each other, both feeling, frankly, quite awkward at the past two days events and were – unbeknownst to each other – glad for the opportunity to have some space from any more potentially embarrassing situations.

Still, they locked eyes once more and nodded their goodbyes, before they took off for the long run back to Suna, their disappointment palpable for their losses and early departures – as well as for the perceived laziness and imposed ignorance of their comrades situations for the day ahead. Yamato, Raiden and Sakura (as well as Temari, who too had made it to the final round) turned and headed towards the mess tent, the day's exertions (and for some, events) having built up a serious hunger in them.

Sakura's mind drifted to tomorrow's rounds – a small sense of excitement bolted through her at just how much she could unleash on her unsuspecting opponent…even without bringing in her per se ninjutsu 'big guns' of her space-time technique – she felt certain she wouldn't need to go overboard, unless she was due to be pitted against Kakashi – which was, now, impossible.


	31. Chapter 31

Hmm, some of you might not be too happy with the turn of events in this chapter… o.0

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 31: Closer To Home_

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><p>Sakura finished looping the hair-tie around her pink locks (in the form of a drooping bun) for a final time so that it would stay up, off the back of her neck and out of her way as she then slumped back in her seat inside the waiting area. It had been strange to sleep in her tent without the slight wheezing of Kurenai or the occasional snort from Ino (although she had, on the plus side, had a much better night's sleep – after banishing thoughts of a certain silver-haired shinobi, of course).<p>

Sakura had also realised, belatedly, that she hadn't had the opportunity to talk to Kakashi about the mystery man – nor had she even thought of him – her embarrassment at breakfast, as well as the proximity of Raiden had prevented conversation and she hadn't been in a position to think about it once she was in the area and waiting for her time to spar – so had slipped her mind completely until the next morning.

Still, there was no sense in her allowing herself to be distracted so she forced herself to trust that the Suna ANBU – allied nin – knew of the man's presence and whatever suspected intention he might have.

The other participants were already present and waiting as the examiner appeared, just as he had done the previous day and began to explain the rules of the final round; the rules were essentially the same as the day before, with regard to strikes allowed, weapons usage and what wasn't allowed (soldier pills, other artificial enhancements, long-range offensive jutsu were also forbidden and any jutsus which would easily leave the fighting circle would warrant and automatic disqualification for the danger presented to the civilian spectators – a part of being ninja was the ability to exercise control, after all) taijutsu was also allowed in proportionally small quantities – something used to help them defeat their opponent, but not to rely upon.

Genjutsu would be frowned upon to use, unless its value as a move to help them win was irreplaceable and undisputable. The nin all settled themselves in the waiting area as the primary examiner walked again to the centre of the ring to announce the first two competitors; names flashed through the screens just as they had done the day before and it took a few seconds before two names flashed up:

"The first fight will be: Youkashou Shin Vs Haruno Sakura," Said kuniochi rose to her feet as did her competition and they both walked towards the centre of the circle, Sakura wondering, lightly, what – if any – his primary element was; they crouched slightly to face each other as the examiner walked out of the circle, "Begin," The shinobi opposite her leapt forward and they exchanged a few kicks and punches – he was strong and Sakura was forced to leap back and eyed him as she began to swiftly form hand seals which Sakura could see one was _tora_ for fire and she hastily formed a plan, waiting for the last second, just as Shin raised his hand to his mouth and shouted,

"Housenka no jutsu!" Sakura slammed her chakra charged fist into the ground sending an earthquake of destruction towards her opponent; she immediately formed a series of hand seals whilst his attention was diverted (and sight partially blocked by the dust) and disappeared into the ground. She was careful, however, to make it appear as though she merely ducked behind the roughed over earth to avoid the balls of fire racing towards her, the depression she'd made deep into the earth to hide in was easily covered by the earthen rubble. As soon as the real one was hidden, she hastily made a kage-bunshin to stand up and cover not only the hole she was hidden in, but her absence.

"So you're a fire element user, eh?" The kage bunshin leapt forward, kunai in hand, and the two nin battled for a few moments, the gnashing sound of blades loud and fierce; the bunshin was careful, however, to guide Shin towards where the real Sakura was hiding and she leapt away, satisfied that the opponent was in the right position to move and prepared a jutsu,

"Doton: Doryuu Taiga no jutsu!" The clone shouted just as her hands seals were completed and a huge river of mud sprouted from nowhere and dashed towards Shin, who moved - just as he was supposed to - jumping up and back, throwing a kunai with kibakufuda attached at the clone who couldn't dodge far enough to avoid being blown up and was destroyed.

Shin looked visibly surprised at realising it was a bunshin, just as the real Sakura made her appearance, jumping up behind him, her fist charged with a minute amount of chakra. Shin sensed her behind him and turned toward her just as the kuniochi's fist came plummeting down onto his chest, spreading numerous hairline fractures through his ribs as he smashed back into the ground and was rendered incapacitated.

Sakura waited a moment remaining crouched over him, satisfied that he was no longer a threat and rose fully up to her feet just as two ANBU leapt in to check him over and the main examiner proclaimed her win. Sakura walked slowly back towards the waiting area amid the many murmurs of the spectators – her fight had lasted all of about ten minutes; she'd used a fair amount of chakra but she wasn't too worried – she'd already planned not to win and to fight for two rounds at most – just enough to show off what she was capable of without revealing her trump card.

Sakura retook her seat next to a lightly smiling Yamato, who hadn't seen her fight for many years, so his expression told her that he was partially proud of and amazed by her increase in skill. Sakura sat back, happy that she'd have, relatively, a fair amount of time to recuperate before her next fight; Temari was called – against another kuniochi – next and she won, easily. Her wind natured chakra served her well against another doton user, and the Suna nin claimed her victory surely, if not swiftly.

One of the fights, between two shinobi Sakura had never before met or fought, was fairly involved; one of the men was extraordinarily arrogant and began his fight with taijutsu, allowing his opponent to strike as he merely blocked or dodged. It was somewhat reminiscent of Kakashi when Naruto tried to fight him on that first training session together as team 7 all those years ago; Sakura got a nasty vibe off the man and he instinct told her that if there was any trouble, he would be at the root.

As the fight progressed to more ninjutsu based battling, he waiting for his opponent to make all of the moves first, just as a jutsu was cast (a wind natured one) the arrogant fighter – Sanosuke – formed a small set of seals blindingly fast seemed to disappear and reappear instantaneously right behind his opponent before striking out with a punch. Sakura watched carefully as he moved again, it was too fast for it to be high speed movement; it might look like a simple transport jutsu, but that would leave behind a trace of movement and it would be slower than how he was currently moving.

_Could it be…a space-time jutsu?_ She watched as he pulled out a kunai with a tag attached, the tag was too small to be a kibakufuda, although it was hard to tell from the distance, he held the kunai strangely, as though he was trying to hide it from his opponent – just as he cast a jutsu – a suuiton which created a large pool of what appeared to be water; his opponent tried to dodge it and had the strangely tagged kunai thrown at him.

Sanosuke, however, was suddenly behind him, at a spot where the kunai had passed and the blade of his hand chopped his opponent on the back of the neck sending him flying to the ground as the water bound his arms and legs, holding him still. Sanosuke crouched and drove a blade into his shoulder, apparently just about missing his heart as two ANBU appeared at the loser's side, forcing Sanosuke to avert his earlier attempt to kill the other competitor.

Sakura watched him as he walked back, no question in her mind that he had been using a space-time jutsu – he'd no doubt heard tales of the fourth as he used a similar principle (as she thought back, she recognised he had thrown earlier kunai with the tags attached or dropped them as his opponent used taijutsu) – his movement was just _too_ fast for someone _not_ manipulating time and space to his advantage.

Sakura memorised his features and body language, her plans for the tournament now radically altered – should she stay and fight him? At some point, sooner or later, she would face him in combat, although he wore no haitai-ate, but Sakura was certain it would be a near lethal battle for one of them.

* * *

><p>"Kakashi," Said silver-haired Jounin half-turned back to look back at the genjutsu specialist walking towards him, down the otherwise deserted hallway,<p>

"Hmm, Kurenai? Is there something you need?"

"Just to talk, where are you off to?"

"…nowhere really…" Damn, he wanted a quiet corner as well; dinner hadn't been the most pleasant he'd ever experienced, both Gaara and Kankuro were surprised to see Kakashi back so quickly and were almost amazed to hear that it had been Sakura who'd knocked him out of the taijutsu round. They'd asked for an in-depth recount of the fight, which had served to not only interrupt Kakashi from his attempts to look (and feel) relaxed, but it had also forced him to internally re-analyse the spar which had brought up a few rather unwanted thoughts.

A little voice in the back of his head kept trying to convince him that he'd lost for reasons which had more to do with the type of books he read that they type of shinobi he was. Kakashi forcefully dismissed this thought and wanted to chalk it up to his underestimation of her and, although true to a degree, he couldn't quite convince himself of the fact, either.

Instead, he shoved the thoughts aside for analysis at a later time; he'd redirected his attention back to the retelling of the tale and gave a reason which blamed a number of factors, from his underestimation of her, to his surprised at the situation (for some, made up, circumstance) to her surprising strength and her knowledge of him (and his fighting style), which she used to her advantage.

The others seemed to accept it and went on to discuss how the two kuniochi they all mutually knew well enough (Sakura and Temari) would fair in the final rounds and how their respective ninjutsu abilities would serve them. Kakashi had drifted off slightly, but not before he'd caught Kurenai eyeing him carefully, if not slightly suspiciously; he wondered, subsequently, if that was the reason she'd sought him out now – right when he was trying to escape the prying eyes and questions of others, and find a quiet spot for a little mediation.

"I must say, that your spar with Sakura really was interesting, how much had you guys sparred together in preparation?"

"A lot for ninjutsu and therein a fair bit of taijutsu was necessary, but not too much for taijutsu only,"

"Oh…so that must be why you both were awkward throughout the spar," Kakashi hoped his 'chronically-disinterested' card would play the situation into his hands and Kurenai would leave him be quickly.

"...What do you mean?"

"You both looked rather tentative with such close quarters,"

"…" Kakashi wasn't sure what an appropriate response would be…yes, he'd felt a little uncomfortable but he hadn't thought it would be obvious to an outside observer…how embarrassing. He couldn't help but wish that it was Sakura at his side – she wouldn't ask him awkward questions (and then take his silence as _meaning_ something, damn it!)

Sakura would be happy just to enjoy the silence or light conversation and keep him company as much or as little as he wished, things were so nice and simple with her…or they were, _before_ he acknowledged the fact he found her highly attractive. Even so, he still found her company preferable over anyone else's…not that he didn't love Kurenai, platonically, that is – she was his friend, a fellow Leaf and, frankly, he'd always have time for her, if only for how happy she used to make Asuma (and now, his son), but those things didn't mean she couldn't drive him to irritation every now and then.

Kurenai was very perceptive and wasn't shy of asking a few questions to reassure her knowledge, which Kakashi had a nasty feeling that that was exactly what the kuniochi was doing – and that she'd draw some..."interesting" conclusions.

"She was able to read you well…it's unusual, though, for your attack pattern to be so transparent to someone,"

"Well she had the advantage since my sharingan covered – and having that usually forces most opponents onto the defensive, their actions are already compensating for my insight before they've even begun the strike…and Sakura has had the intricacies of taijutsu drilled into her by Tsunade – as part of her opponent-evasion-and-analysis training as a medic – and by Gai, with whom she's trained extensively."

"Oh? I'd thought her taijutsu was exceptional and I'd guessed she'd had special training because of her current rank, but I didn't think she'd trained with Gai…"

"Hmm…" He didn't feel like explaining it was because he'd deserted her that she had to resort to asking the Green Beast. They turned the corner and ended up on the very same balcony that he and Sakura had frequented that evening; he resisted the urge to sigh at how agitated he felt, the feeling beginning to contaminate the memory of the last time he was here. Kakashi stood leant down on the same ledge he had before, trying to force himself to relax into the cool air,

"I'd thought that Sakura seemed a bit more familiar with Gai, but I didn't think too much about it…when did she begin to train with him?"

"A few years ago, I think she went to him for taijutsu training so she could join ANBU and they've met regularly ever since,"

"I see…I'd like to say that I'm amazed she's managed to put up with him, but Gai _is_ fairly likable once you get to know him…and come to terms with his flamboyant nature," Kakashi's eye drifted lazily over the silhouette of Suna, taking in the gentle fuzziness of the lights, a small half smile twitching at his lips,

"Yea, that's true…I've heard her say that his enthusiastic teaching method agrees with her," He must have allowed something to bleed into his voice, for Kurenai picked up on whatever it was,

"…In the way that yours didn't?" A breath of a moment passed before Kurenai continued, "Sorry…You never really did strike me as one with a spirit to endear you to children, though," Kakashi finally rounded his full attention on the kuniochi, a deeply unimpressed expression on his face, eliciting a short but hearty laugh from her,

"…You're right though, children – or the immature, for that matter – really don't agree with me; I definitely thought that Gai and Asuma, especially, were well suited to teaching the genin groups,"

"Heh…"

"So…does training with Sakura now, agree with you?"

"Yes," The affirmation was out of his mouth before he could think better of being so open, "It's interesting training with someone when it's on more equal footing,"

"Aa…I'd agree, it's more fun that way…well, I think I'll say good night, Kakashi,"

"Goodnight, Kurenai, sleep well," She nodded slightly before wandering away, Kakashi still feeling slightly bristled as his mind lingered on the pink-haired kuniochi with whom he felt so familiar, wondering slightly why Kurenai's questioning felt so invasive. He again looked out over Suna and wondered how Sakura would fair in tomorrow's competition and wondered as well, how their relationship might have changed due to recent events.

Whatever the outcome, though, he hoped that he and Sakura could laugh over it – preferably _after_ he'd challenged her to – and won – a serious, all-out spar between them; he found himself looking forward to heading back to Konoha and spending the occasional afternoon with her sparring or discussing the mechanics of space-time - both sounded pleasurable, indeed.

He was always glad of times such as those, where they were in each other's company for the sake of relaxation but didn't have to mean anything – Sakura never seemed to _have to have a label _on anything…he knew what Kurenai had been implying, but it always was easy for someone to be on the outside-looking-in and judge without knowing the whole situation. Why did everyone have to make out relationships to be more than what they were?

Why was it so wrong for people to be on friendly terms? Nothing, there was _nothing_ wrong with being friendly with someone…he could even get away with tugging her just a little closer (it unsettled him having someone close, but somehow not quite close enough to know _precisely_ where they stood) and so long as he didn't do anything stupid (again) or let his usually well controlled emotions run away with him, then they could enjoy the fruits of a close and adult friendship, something all too rarely experienced.

* * *

><p>Raiden's time to fight had finally arrived (only Yamato and his opponent were still due for the first round) and her subordinate got up to the centre of the ring and faced his adversary; the two clashed heavily – his opponent was a ration user and relied upon it heavily. Raiden was getting frustrated, she could see, by having an opponent who was very well matched in terms of skill, but who was fairly cocky and took pleasure in looking cool for the sake of irritating another.<p>

Raiden leapt back, and began forming a slightly more extensive line of seals – Raiden had, in the past few months, been working on combining his suuiton and katon elements to form a new 'mist' one and he'd gotten far with it, but Sakura could tell it was something of a risky move. He formed the seals and expelled a great cloud of mist which hung over the majority of the circle (but was still well within); before Raiden could make another move, however, his opponent threw a shuriken with wire attached and suddenly, the entire mist cloud crackled and sparked – not unlike the fashion that water would if one dropped an electrical appliance into it.

The enemy nin had obviously send his electricity-like chakra down the wire and the entire field took on a blue, electricity like hue as the crackle was more of a loud snap, the volts running through the cloud must have been huge. Raiden dropped to the floor, his body twitching uncontrollably as his jutsu ended and the electrical field dropped; Sakura leapt from her seat and was by her subordinate's side within seconds,

"T-ai..chou?"

"I'm here, Raiden, don't talk,"

"N...o... Please...see...my father, I wanted to...give you..."

"Raiden!"

"...Give you...some-hing..."

"I promise I will, Raiden, but now, please don't speak, you must conserve your energy!" He seemed to give in and his eyes closed as his convulses seemed now to come in waves, although were still horrifically violent, three Suna ANBU surrounded her as she placed her hand, glowing green with healing chakra, over Raiden's forehead - she explained,

"I'm his captain and a medic nin," She needn't have, really, as they were all fairly familiar with Sakura (due to Konoha and Suna's close ties); she could feel her blood run cold as she managed to get a grasp on the situation; his body was still twitching violently,

"What is it?"

"T-the electrical gradients across all of his neurons have been disrupted and…a…shit, I can't…" The disruption was so severe and so widespread that Sakura was, in the current situation, powerless to help him. Immediately engaging her second hand, she began to shut down his higher brain functions – to put him into a coma, in effect – in hopes that she would be able to protect his brain from as much permanent damage as possible.

The kuniochi was highly aware, however, that her chakra was proportionately low and she'd need a few other skilled medics by her side to help – although she knew that the best person to help her with brain injury such as this, was still in Konoha.

"I've had to put him into a coma, but he needs immediate surgery, and specialist equipment, how quickly can we get him back to Suna?" One of the nins began to form hand seals and formed a summoning jutsu; a huge bird appeared next to the nin, it cawed loudly as Sakura got a good look at it – it definitely couldn't carry more than three people:

"Yamato-taichou!" As soon as Sakura had shouted his name, the man appeared at her side, "I have to get Raiden back to Suna and perform immediate surgery on him, will you..?"

"I'll be fine here, will _you_ be alright?" Sakura nodded,

"The others are still in the village so they can help me…win the tournament for us, alright?" He offered a small, reassuring smile - which she returned as a thankful curl of her lips; Sakura lifted Raiden's now limp body up and the Suna nin who'd summoned the bird climbed on its back and took Raiden's body from her arms, allowing her too to climb up onto the avian's back. The other nin stepped back out of its way as it flapped its gigantic wings and lifted itself into the air, soon leaving the small desert village - and the tournament - behind.

"How long?" Sakura called over the sound of rushing wind,

"Two to two and a half hours, maybe three if the wind is against us or we hit a sand-storm," The nin called back as Sakura shifted Raiden around so that she could begin to attempt to work on his brain (or at least probe more to better understand what was wrong), cursing slightly her lack of chakra and the fact that his injury was in one area that Sakura's knowledge was the worst in – the brain was the least understood organ in the body and it wouldn't take much for him to either never wake up again, or wake up as someone else entirely.

When they finally arrived in Suna, Raiden was taken into surgery and two of Suna's specialist medics were called in to help – Sakura, who'd begun treatment on the way back, stopped only to wait for Kakashi to be brought to her; he appeared after a few agonising minutes,

"Sakura? What's wrong?"

"Raiden, he's been severely injured; I need to get a message to Tsunade asap, can you summon Pakkun?" Kakashi didn't even pause to nod before he bit his thumb and flicked through the seals, the little pug took only a second to smell the fear and panic on the kuniochi,

"What's happened?" She crouched down, reaching for Pakkun's collar,

"I need you to take this letter to Tsunade-sama as fast as you can, my teammate's been gravely injured, please wait for her response and bring it back to me,"

"You got it," He sprang away and was gone in seconds, Sakura turned to re-enter the surgery to continue assisting and better explain the circumstances to the other medics; Kakashi didn't have time to so much as get the first syllable of her name out before she was gone again. Kankuro and the two other Leaf kuniochi made an appearance,

"What's going on?"

"I'm not sure, it seems that one of ours has been gravely injured – Sakura's in there trying to heal him,"

…

"...The electrical field was too strong around him, I think, and its disrupted all of the baseline electrical gradients in his neurons – some have been reversed and even some of the membrane ion pumps have been fried…I've artificially induced a coma to protect the higher brain functions but the damage was so wide spread that its beginning to interfere with the reflex and autonomous actions. If we can repolarise the majority of the neurons and return them to their resting potential, we can then begin to repair cytoskeleton and stimulate regrowth of damaged neurons and ion pumps…"

Sakura was simultaneously preparing some of the equipment for use, whilst she explained, small conductors were being attached to his temple to send a second electrical current through his brain – although much smaller and more controlled, this time – to help 'reset' the neurons back to their ordinary resting states.

She worked for hours on her teammate and friend, desperately hoping that she would be able to save him from death or permanent brain damage; daytime slowly turned to night and eventually not only was her chakra exhausted but her hands were burnt and her body at its limit. With the help of the other medics, they'd been able to set the majority of the chemical gradients to rights within his brain and had begun the healing and regeneration process on the irreparably damaged cells, but still more work needed doing.

Sakura tried, desperate to rescue her friend, but Sakura's body could go no further and she was forced to admit that he would have to fight it out himself for the next few hours whilst she rested and regained her chakra, she stepped out of the surgery and gave in. She crumpled down, her consciousness leaving her so quickly, she didn't even register that she'd been saved from falling to he hard ground by a pair of strong arms.

They lifted her up and carried her back towards the quarters set out for her...although Ino and Kurenai would probably be in the room and maybe asleep, given how late it was, so took her into one of the empty rooms with a spare bed set out, flicked the light on, glad the bed present was already made up.

Sakura's silver-haired saviour sighed lightly at her fatigue, he'd known she'd push herself far beyond what was reasonable, and hence he'd stuck around, wanting to make sure she'd be alright – he couldn't wait to ask her how the final round had gone and what sort of shinobi were at the top of their game in today's world…he couldn't help but wonder, though, just how far she'd gotten in the competition.

Assuming it took a few hours to return (he'd heard they'd travelled by bird summon), the injury must have occurred fairly early on, so how much had Sakura seen? He placed her gently onto to bed and removed her sandals, pouches and haitai-ate (and pulled her hair free of the limp and tattered excuse for a bun in was in, so that she would be more comfortable) as he watched her for a few moments, he was glad that she didn't seem to be injured, beyond her chakra exhaustion and burns on her hands, which he set about wrapping.

He found himself looking forward to her waking up so that she could tell him about the final rounds and who she'd come up against (how was her fight? More power or tactics based?) He knew it was strange for him to be so eager to hear about what had happened in less than a day since he'd last seen her – and, strangely, all of his prior awkwardness was forgotten – well, it returned _now_ that he'd thought about it, but he was still eager with anticipation of hearing exactly what had happened in her own words.

He hadn't known what to think when the Suna nin had appeared in front of him (abruptly interrupted a delightful segment of _Icha Icha Violence, Volume 2_) and said that Sakura urgently requested to see him. His first fear was that she'd been injured – even though for it to be serious enough, she'd hardly be able to _ask_ for his presence (unless of course it was fatal and she had minutes) he'd dismissed this thought, though, and was simultaneously relieved and further worried at seeing her up and about, but looking anxious.

Kakashi finished wrapping her hands and tucked her beneath the covers; he turned to leave the room with the intention of getting some sleep himself – hoping that Raiden would be alright, that Paakun would make it to Konoha in time and that Tsunade could provide her own insight. He flicked the light off and wandered back to his own room, determined to get some rest, even though he was aware that it was extremely unlikely.

.

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><p>An – return of the geeky information! Ahaha! *strikes superhero pose* Lol, I've done by best with my generally limited understanding of neurons and the brain (unfortunately not my best area of biology, tho I love the subject as a whole Ahh! A-Level biology, those were the days!) unfortunately, I'm still not sure if what I've said is accurate with regard to the initial means of causing the damage – so I'll ask you to take it with a tiny pinch of salt and I apologise if any of this is grossly wrong.

I've cut out a lot of what would otherwise be discussed by the medics in a real life situation, (partly because I think it would be fairly boring (to those at least not BSc or higher in biochemistry, probably, or have a deep love and knowledge of the subject lol) and would seriously detract from the drama and intensity, hence I've only added in enough to provide a flavour of what's going on. Besides, there's always the rest of the internet to give you the greater details if you're interested XD) but I'll include a few details here:

Cytoskeleton: is highly organised to maintain the unique structure of neurons, made up of neurofilament proteins (which are thought to act like scaffolding to help maintain the shape of the axons and cell body) and microtubules to help transport substances and organelles through the axon.

If you look up "neurons" in google or "nervous tissue" [the Wikipedia article for this is a pretty good starting place if you're a stranger to this info, the wiki on 'neurons' is a bit more advanced and confusing if you haven't read anything on it before!] But it's all incredibly interesting and fairly awesome for how we are able to think and process information – lol the analogy of a light-bulb going off for when we realise something really is rather apt, don't you think? ^-^


	32. Chapter 32

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><p><strong><em>Go No Further<em>**

_Part 32: Favour The Bold_

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><p>Sakura awoke slowly, feeling awful, she opened her eyes and immediately squinted, the bright daylight of the desert harsh on her sleep-sensitised eyes; groaning slightly Sakura rolled onto her side, realising that she was in a proper bed, rather than a bed <em>roll<em>. Taking a moment to sigh before forcing herself to sit up and look around the room, noticing her hands had been bandaged, she slipped her legs over the edge of the bed and almost immediately regretted it.

The kuniochi felt as though someone had beaten the life out of her – she'd been chakra exhausted before and it was always a gruesome experience – steeling herself, she made her way to her feet, her mind recalling just exactly _why_ she'd exhausted her chakra and it gave her renewed determination. Staggering towards the door, she managed to push it open, just in time to set eyes on Kakashi, who was carrying a tray as he walked down the hall,

"Sakura? You shouldn't be out of bed yet,"

"I need to see Raiden, how is he?" Kakashi ushered her back into the room,

"The medics say he's fine but there's been no change," Sakura nodded, relenting for the moment, the miso soup and rice really was tempting so she sat back on the bed; Kakashi handed her the small bowl of soup, "You must rest, though, Sakura…you're no good to him if you can barely stand, let alone mould chakra," Kakashi made sure to keep his voice gentle and as non-nagging as possible (he knew from experience it would cause more trouble than it was intended to prevent). Sakura sipped down about half the bowl before she awkwardly started on the rice and the entire meal was gone in seconds,

"I need to…" She paused, upon meeting Kakashi's eye, "...See one of the medics who's checked on him this morning,"

"I can bring one of them here,"

"Would you?"

"Sure…but stay in bed and _rest!_"

"Hai, hai," She nodded as Kakashi picked up the tray and pulled the covers back to allow her climb into bed proper, even that small effort seemed to require far too much energy and Sakura had no qualms about doing as Kakashi asked and resting. "Could you bring me some more miso and rice, please, as well?" Kakashi chuckled slightly but agreed; he returned a few minutes later with the male medic who'd helped her yesterday, and two more bowls,

"Sakura-san, I checked on him myself this morning, his synaptic potentials are stable and have been returned to baseline. All of the involuntary functions have taken over by themselves and his reflexes seem normal – we've begun another IV and he is under observation, but we aren't sure what to do next…I suspect we will have to wait for him to wake up naturally," Sakura nodded as she sipped at her soup (a touch more slowly this time, although Kakashi wasn't sure if it was due to a less ravenous hunger or the unfamiliar company, probably both),

"I sent a message to Tsunade-sama yesterday, so with any luck we should hear back from her within twenty four hours – she is a bit more specialist with brain function than myself…the best we can do until then is to keep an eye on the action potentials and normalise those which fall out of sync and continue healing on the areas worst affected. I'll take a look at him once I'm able," The medic nodded,

"We'll alert you immediately if there's any change,"

"Thank you," The medic rose to his feet and bowed politely to them both before letting himself out, Kakashi observed Sakura's thoughtful chewing for a moment as she ruminated over the new information,

"It seems as though his brain still isn't healed enough to allow him to regain consciousness…"

"When will he?"

"Who knows? Coma patients are tricky, he might remain this way for anything from a few weeks to years…because of the nature of the damage as well, his brain might also be 'stuck' – its shut itself down for the sake of protecting itself, but the mechanism to 'wake up' has been disrupted…I'll have to wait to see what Tsunade suggests, and find a way to transport him back to Konoha…" Sakura sighed lightly, feeling disheartened by her inability to act;

"Don't worry, Sakura, Raiden is strong," She nodded lightly as Kakashi took the bowl and chopsticks from her still bandaged hands, "How did the tournament go, did you fight?"

"Yes, I was first up – I won that round although it was the only one I fought in…my opponent was a bit cocky and didn't see through the fact he was fighting a kage bunshin for most of it,"

"I assume Raiden was the reason you didn't fight again?"

"Yes…but I was watching the other fights before, and one of them, I'm certain is a space-time user,"

"What?"

"He seemed to use a similar technique to the Yondaime, of tagged kunai which he summoned himself to…His movement was just too quick for the transport technique…"

"…" Kakashi looked as though he wanted to comment, but held his tongue;

"Yamato-taichou was watching as well, he should have seen something more…he was a really arrogant character, he knew his jutsu and its capabilities, but he wore no haitai-ate and we don't know who he might be affiliat-aah—ted with," Sakura's sentence was interrupted by a yawn, Kakashi nodded,

"Get some sleep, Sakura, I'll wake you up if anything happens and I'll talk to Yamato when he gets back," She nodded, wanting to protest, but already fighting another yawn she slid back to lie right down and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

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><p>Yamato had made good time getting back to Suna although it was now mid-afternoon; he'd stayed overnight in the small village, as the competition had finished late as a result of the incident, and the time taken to clear the arena (the shinobi who'd injured Raiden was disqualified for his irresponsibility and lack of control over his jutsu). Yamato had also carried back the remaining items of Sakura's and Raiden's as they were left behind.<p>

The Mokuton element user had some second in the overall competition; his last fight had been against the space-time user. Although Yamato had known how to attack him and had taken advantage of the obvious kunai markers, he wasn't able to finish such an opponent on his own – he really needed a second pair of hands, and as a result, Sanosuke kept slipped out of Yamato's wood binds and eventually his enemy managed to bring him down.

Whilst the user wasn't up to the Fourth's level, he was still tricky and obviously had a good understanding of his jutsu and its effects – he would be a dangerous opponent to face in a serious fight, and as a consequence, Yamato placed a small tracking bead onto the user in the hopes that he might give away who he worked for and where his allegiances lay.

It had been a long and exhausting run back to Suna – he was flanked by Temari (who came in third) and some of the other Suna ANBU who'd been observing the tournament – Yamato was aware that Sanosuke was about an hour or two behind them and wasn't sure if he'd be allowed into Suna, although it seemed unlikely, he'd have to keep his senses sharp as for where he might be headed.

He'd been worried about Sakura and Raiden as well; he was reassured by knowing that the other Leafs were there – Suna may be allies, but he doubted their effectiveness at getting Sakura to rest, she tended to over-do it when a comrade was in trouble and pushed herself to her limits; Kakashi, at least, would be able to make her take a break as necessary.

Eventually, the group slowed to a halt outside the village entrance and they were swiftly allowed passage – Yamato was glad of the shade and he couldn't wait to have a hot, cleansing shower. They made their way to the administration buildings where they were to be given lodgings, he could sense the tension in the air and it wasn't too long before he came across Kakashi, they slowly walked back the quarters assigned as they talked, (Kakashi from behind his book),

"What's happening?"

"Raiden is still out of it; what about you? How are you?"

"I'm good, no injuries…came second, though," Kakashi grinned

"That's nothing to sniff at…who were you beaten by?"

"The space-time user – I imagine Sakura's already made mention of him?"

"She has…"

"I'm placed a marker on him, but he's a tough one to bring down and I'm not sure how we'll fair without a space-time user of our own," Kakashi resisted a smirk, he'd forgotten that Yamato wouldn't know about Sakura's recent work,

"Don't worry, teamwork is the key for fights like those," Yamato bit back a laugh, as he pushed open the door to the room,

"Of course!" The mokuton user dropped his laden pack and flopped down on the bed, glad for some rest,

"Yamato,"

"Hmm?" He cracked an eye open and turned to the slightly older shinobi,

"Well done,"

"Th-thank you," Kakashi offered a small grin before wandering out of the room and closing the door behind him, he leapt out of the nearest window with the intent of enjoying the late afternoon sun and so he dropped down from the building, to begin walking through the streets of Suna when his attention was called by a familiar voice,

"Kakashi!"

"Eh? Pakkun? You're back-" The little dog looked exhausted,

"Where's Sakura? Tsunade-sama gave me some scrolls for her, urgently,"

"She's in the medical lab, this way," Kakashi darted off, hotly followed by his ninken; thankfully, Sakura wasn't too far away and she looked relieved to see Pakkun back with a response. Kakashi brought him a bowl of water as Sakura unclipped the scrolls and read them through,

"Tsunade-sama said to bring him back to Konoha as quickly as you can," Sakura nodded as she continued to read the scroll, whilst the dog noisily drained the bowl of its contents,

"Thanks Pakkun," He nodded in acknowledgement as Kakashi dismissed him,

"What are you planning on next?" Sakura met her once-teacher's eye as the other medic nins came out of the room Raiden was still resting in,

"We need to get back to Konoha, but we'll have to wait for Yamato-"

"He's just returned, he'll probably be good to go after a sort rest," Sakura nodded,

"Good, I think it's best if we leave tonight, Raiden's body will suffer the worst in the desert sun, if we can avoid that by traveling at night we should be on the advantage; Tsunade's suggestions are things I've already done and he's stable for now – she'll need to look at him herself when we return…I suppose its lucky that only really Yamato is the most tired, you Kurenai and Ino have had time to rest and my chakra's slowly recovering." Sakura turned to Baki who was stood close by, "Do you think that ANBU nin who helped transport Raiden back here will be able to help us?" He shook his head,

"No; he's been sent out on a mission and isn't expected back for another five days,"

"Aah, then we'll have to made do…will you be able to give us supplies for the return journey?"

"Hai, I can have them prepared for within the hour…are there any specialist medical supplies you will need?" Sakura nodded and quickly wrote down a small list of items and handed it to Baki, he bowed his head politely and excused himself, happy to finally have something to do other than stand around.

"Kakashi, can you go and inform Kurenai, Ino and Yamato that we'll be leaving just after sunset? And can you have Yamato come and see me when he's able, as well?"

"Sure, is there anything else you need me to do?"

"No, Raiden won't be difficult to prepare for transport, although someone'll have to carry him,"

"I can do that," Sakura opened her mouth to protest but Kakashi cut her off, "I'm the most suitable person to do so since I haven't been exerting myself over the past few days and you'll need all your strength to heal or possibly fight if it comes to it…we won't be able to relax until we're well within the Fire country border at the very earliest and that will be two days at the least." Sakura nodded,

"I know…I'll feel better once we get Raiden back to Konoha and Tsunade-sama can look at him," Kakashi gave a murmur of agreement and turned to go and alert the remaining team members of the situation.

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><p>Eventually, the group were ready to leave, just as the desert sun was setting, casting a blood-red smear over the large sky; the limp form of Raiden was hoisted onto Kakashi's back. Kurenai was to take point, then Yamato, then Kakashi, followed by Sakura and finally Ino; Sakura was reassured to learn that Yamato had placed a tracking device on the space-time user and they'd planned for how to act she they encounter any hostile enemies.<p>

Both Baki and Gaara apologised for not being able to provide them with an escort home – many of their nin either helping to clean up the village which acted as a base for the tournament or were out on reconnaissance to make sure all of the participating nin left Wind country without causing trouble. The Leafs were fairly certain they could handle themselves as they were all in good enough shape and they were travelling a path they knew well.

"Kakashi," Sakura gained the shinobi's attention just before they left, "If you think Raiden might be waking up, stop immediately at let me have a look at him; it's highly unlikely, but some external stimulation might well reach him…"

"Hai," She offered a small, grateful smile and the company prepared to set off for the long run back home; they organised themselves into formation and set off, their pace significantly slower than normal, but fast enough for them to cover the distance to the Wind/River border in the night.

The Suna medics had been kind to allow her to take a few field IV kits with her, as well as a few extra herbs which were good for re-hydrating over-exerted shinobi; Sakura was also glad that she'd done all she could for Raiden the day previous which meant that her chakra levels were almost back to full and she wouldn't have too much trouble pulling a few jutsu as necessary.

…

The company came to a halt, panting slightly with the effort, they were less than an hour from the Fire border and had decided to pause for a few moments; Kakashi unburdened himself from Raiden (who was still unconscious) and crouched down.

Yamato fetched his water bottle and took a swig but nearly choked on it, as someone appeared behind him, holding a kunai to his throat. Yamato, ever on the ball, moulded his chakra to turn his neck to wood as he thrust his elbow into the enemy nin's stomach only to connect with air. Sanosuke appeared in the centre of the small clearing, grinning like a mad-man as he stood in the centre of the circle, his eyes locked on Sakura,

"I had heard of there being a pink-haired kuniochi space-time user from Konoha…I was so terribly disappointed when I didn't get to see you in action in the competition, but I suppose trusting my subordinate not to get carried away in his fight was too much to expect,"

"What?" Sakura took a step closer towards the nin, furious that he might be the cause behind Raiden's condition (she didn't even allow herself to feel the prickly fear on the back of her neck that someone might be a traitor for spreading secrets of Konoha nin).

"I know, I was so looking forward to testing my limits…oh, are you shocked that I know about it? You should all be more careful, your nin sure do have loose tongues when sake flows freely," He grinned maliciously, "Fight me kuniochi, and we'll be on our way… Oh, and in case you're wondering," His eyes fell towards Yamato, "I stuck your little tracking bead onto an animal – you really were too obvious with that!" Yamato's eyes widened slightly at the fact the enemy nin seemed to have realised his ploy and disrupted it without his realising.

Kakashi immediately tensed rising to a fighting stance, preparing to leap in to battle, but Sanosuke rounded his attention on him, "Don't bother, Last Sharingan Wielder, this is a fight between ninja of a different type," Kakashi held his ground, alternate different scenarios running through his head of how the coming few minutes or hours could play out; he could sense the presence of about five other nin a few tens of meters away, but they appeared to be remaining still. Yamato, Kurenai and Ino all looked mildly confused at the situation;

"You just want a fight?" Sakura asked cautiously,

"Yes, I thought I was special with my space-time jutsu, but then you had to steal my thunder, didn't you? I am curious though, the nin who described you said you didn't use tags or seals,"

"Sakura, what's he talking about?" Ino half-whispered as Sanosuke smiled lightly,

"Your name is Sakura? Pretty…and rather apt, I think,"

"Sanosuke, was it? Your jutsu is based on the Yondaime Hokage's Hiraishin no jutsu, isn't it?"

"I'd heard stories of how it worked and set about with my own research if that's what you mean." Sakura nodded, eyeing him carefully, his jutsu had a fatal flaw by way of the seals and if he wasn't quick enough then she could get around him, but it would be tricky and Sakura could end up expending a lot of chakra without really getting anywhere. He was a big man, too, and a taijutsu fight with him would take a lot out of her;

"Yamato, Ino, Kurenai, you take Raiden back to Konoha, I can stay and cover Sakura," Kakashi swiftly whispered although it went mostly unheard as all eyes were on the two shinobi in front of them. Sakura was busy organising her chakra to her opening points so as to form a film over her body and activate her jutsu, just as Sanosuke charged her, he looked as though he was going for a kunai strike as he threw it at the last second.

Sakura had crouched down, as the kunai flew straight through her, and Sanosuke followed up by trying to clobber her with her fist; his arm drifted right through her as well, though, and Sakura ceased the film over her arm to strike the back of his head with her elbow. Just as her elbow connected with him, he disappeared as he activated his jutsu – in time to escape the full impact of her strike.

The pink-haired kuniochi ran a little further on before turning back around to face him across the small clearing – Yamato and the two other kuniochi hadn't moved from Kakashi's order; they were all looking visibly shocked at what Sakura was capable of – that they had no idea about,

"It would appear that my informer had not been lying…that is one impressive jutsu,"

"Who do you work for?" Sanosuke reached around for a few tagged kunai, the pink-haired kuniochi's eye drifted over her opponent's shoulder to lock with Kakashi's as said Jounin reached up to lift his haitai-ate off of his sharingan.

"Tsk, tsk, I can't tell you that, it would take the fun out of things…besides this is supposed to be the friendly spar I was earlier denied, not an interrogation session,"

"You can't multi-task?" He scowled slightly, "Who told you about me?"

"_I'm_ not a gossip or a snitch…although I do enjoy their company," He grinned again as Sakura again prepared her jutsu, as usual, only the soles of her feet were uncovered, allowing her to continue standing on the sold ground; they eyed each other carefully for a few split seconds as Sakura prepared her response to his predicted moves.

Sanosuke threw a swift hail of tagged kunai which Sakura allowed to pass though her, as soon as all the kunai had passed she cancelled her space-time jutsu and span around forming the seals for a Goukakkyuu which she expelled over the tagged kunai, most of which burned up in the blaze, but some still survived. Sanosuke was quick to jump to one of the remaining ones and formed his own hand signs, a huge windmill shuriken appeared in his hands, with a wire attached.

Sakura pulled out a kunai of her own as she divided her chakra, a majority going to her opening points ready to activate her jutsu at a moment's noticed and some remaining chakra going to her right fist, (her left currently clutching a kunai, which she'd also covered in her chakra to make it intangible), ready to add chakra to her punch. Sanosuke began to spin the shuriken above his head, it began to glow with his chakra as he span it faster until little more than a blur, Sakura noted the length of wire on it – it _was_ long enough to take out her fellow Leafs behind her, but she'd just have to trust them to take care of themselves.

Sakura crouched and dashed forward activating her jutsu as he threw his shuriken at her, as expected it passed right through, but before Sanosuke could yank on the wire to bring it back for a second strike, it suddenly disappeared; looking away from the woman in front of him in uncontrolled surprise, his eyes immediately connected with the deep crimson of Kakashi's mangekyou sharingan and the opponent froze.

Sakura guessed that Sanosuke had to have been caught in Kakashi's genjutsu, she took advantage and threw her chakra charged fist right into her opponent's chest; she could feel a few ribs buckle under the force of her blow and it was enough to free him from the illusion. He grunted in pain as he slammed into the earth, Sakura, ended her transient illusion technique so that she'd have more hitting power, but Sanosuke suddenly disappeared; his voice alerted them to his new location, although she couldn't see him, he shouted, despite his voice sounding pained:

"Sakura, thank you for the spar – I'll be sure to have us fight _properly_ next time and there _will be_ a next time…until then, train up, Cherry Blossom!" Sakura gritted her teeth in irritation wanting to pummel him some more as she panted slightly from her chakra exertion for a fight which went nowhere – except giving the enemy information on her which she would rather have remain hidden.

"S-Sakura…" Said kuniochi ignored Ino's awed words and looked up to see Kakashi panting himself, one hand clutching his sharingan eye,

"Thanks, Kakashi…" Said nin grinned slightly,

"Heh, nice to know I'm still good enough to help my old student out every now and then," Sakura offered a small smile, but quickly redirected her attention,

"Yamato, check yourself over for one of his seals, he must have attached one onto you," The mokuton user nodded and slipped out of his flak jacket, turning it over and checking the pockets as Sakura walked over to Raiden to once again check his (still) unchanged vitals. Her mind whirred over the past few minutes, it was obvious that his intention had been solely to gather information and had been confident that no matter what the outcome, he would have been able to get himself out of the area.

Most importantly, however, who had been talking? Who had been observing her and Kakashi's training? She'd spoken to Tsunade-sama on a number of occasions about her research and training so there _was_ opportunity for someone to have heard her…but surely, then, they would have needed to see her in action to determine both that it was her, and that she used neither seals nor hand signs.

_Shit…_She'll have her work cut out between caring for Raiden, looking up who her new nemesis was and improving her tactics for her jutsu – she rarely used it on a mission unless absolutely necessary and hence, her timing wasn't as perfect as for her other, more oft used, jutsu.

"Aah!" Yamato's voice caught her attention, she looked over to see him holding a tag, Sakura rose to her feet and outstretched her hand as she walked over to him, it was written out in a similar way to a kibakufuda. The kuniochi quickly memorised the seal before she directed her chakra to her fingers and it caught fire, burning to ash in seconds – she'd have to compare it to the Yondaime's seal when she returned to Konoha, it was too big a risk to bring a still-active seal into her village.

"Okay, we've still got to get Raiden back, let's redouble our pace," Kakashi called as Yamato took over, hoisting the still unconscious Raiden onto his back. They adjusted formation, so that Yamato and Kakashi switched positions, the latter having squeezed his borrowed eye shut for a moment before dragging his haitai-ate back down to cover it. They set off again, all of them desperate to reach the safety of their home village as soon as possible.

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><p>They arrived in Konoha long after night had fallen, they headed straight for the hospital and one of the on-duty gate guards had dashed off to inform Tsunade of the grubby and worn out looking, but relatively uninjured group's return.<p>

Almost as soon as they'd laid Raiden down on a bed and the nurses began hooking him up to various monitors and another IV, Tsunade appeared, Ino and Kurenai – as they'd seen, proportionately, the least action out of all of them – briefly explained what had happened to an ever more concerned Tsunade before they were excused.

The Godaime, quickly looked over Raiden and ascertained that his current stability was unlikely to change soon and had Sakura, Kakashi and Yamato follow her back to an office within the hospital she occasionally used, where they could more full explain what had happened; the blonde sannin could feel the awkward un-comfortableness of her nin growing with each step. She braced herself as she stepped inside the office,

"Let's start with the basics, who won?" Sakura responded with a tired sigh,

"A serious enemy – I pulled out of competing so as to heal Raiden who was injured in his first fight of the third round," Tsunade nodded,

"I'll hear your medical report in a moment, Kakashi? How far did you get?"

"To the second round, I was knocked out during my taijutsu fight by Sakura," The Godaime's eyebrow rose in surprise as she looked between the two nin for a moment, she noted Kakashi's carefully schooled tone of voice and expression – which might otherwise betray slightly wounded pride – were Kakashi prone to such feelings.

"Hmm…Yamato?"

"I came in second overall," Tsunade nodded, grinning lightly,

"Excellent,"

"Tsunade-sama, I lost to a space-time ninjutsu user who managed to track us on our return journey to Konoha,"

"What?" Sakura shared a glance with Yamato and took over the recounting of events,

"Yes, he'd somehow heard – from one of _our_ ninjas – that I was a space-time user as well…he caught us up for the sake of fighting me to gain information on my technique; we fought for a little while but the only serious injury was sustained by him. Tsunade-sama, I'm very worried about who could have spoken to him and how – he alluded to getting them drunk – whoever it was had fairly detailed knowledge that I use neither seals nor hand signs… The only people I've spoken too about my jutsu are yourself and Kakashi…" Tsunade's frown deepened as Sakura spoke, her own worry greatly increasing as well,

"What sort of technique did he use?"

"He created his own version very much like the Yondaime's Hiraishin no jutsu, having little paper tags attached to kunai,"

"Did he wear a haitai-ate? Did he give any indication of where he was from?"

"No…but he made it clear that he intends us to fight again in a far more serious exchange and…he also implied that it was upon his orders that Raiden was injured, although he claimed his subordinate 'went too far'," Tsunade nodded, pausing for a moment as she mulled the information over,

"Alright, Sakura come with me and I'll take a look at your subordinate…the two of you, get some rest and start writing up your reports, I want them on my desk by late afternoon tomorrow. Good work," The two men bowed politely as Sakura found herself catching Kakashi's eye before she and the Godaime walked out of the door.

A sudden thought struck her, what about the mystery man? And - potentially worse than that - how should she write up the "rendezvous" she'd had with Kakashi on that evening to deflect suspicion? Either way, _that_ part would have to wait for an awkward conversation with Kakashi, as the former was a more pressing matter, she immediately spoke up,

"Tsunade-sama, there is one more thing,"

"Hmm?" The blonde looked over her shoulder at her once-apprentice, who fell into step next to her,

"Whilst I was at the tournament, I did notice a spectator who seemed to watch a little _too_ closely…he was also present in the mess tent for meals, which were supposed to be reserved for participating shinobi…I couldn't tell whether he was ninja, but he appeared ore observant than a civilian nor did he look particularly out of place around other nin," Tsunade frowned again,

"Hmm, that doesn't sound too good…what became of him?"

"To be honest, I don't know, he concerned me one night but I didn't see him the day after – which was the taijutsu round, and by the time I gave further thought to him, Raiden had been injured. The Suna ANBU didn't make a move against him and I felt certain they would have, if he were hostile…I apologise, but I lost track of him and I didn't get much of a chance to ask my remaining teammates,"

"Don't worry about it Sakura, it's something I'll keep my eyes open for…if he was a threat, the Suna ANBU would have acted," Sakura nodded,

"Hai, Hokage-sama," They both walked back into Raiden's room, and Tsunade began a cursory exam of the unconscious nin,

"Now, Sakura, tell me more about his injury and how you treated him,"

..

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	33. Chapter 33

Sorry this has taken a while, I suffered some rather nasty technical dificulties over the past few days – lost admin authority, had to re-install windows, lots of cursing etc. lol; that finally done: _no_ microsoft office applications. Grr! Thank you fanfiction for offering the LibreOffice installation! *Cries Gai-like tears of joy* Thus, I have returned! XD Thankfully, this chapter was mostly written before my computer suffered its problems and there is copious KakaSaku therein! ^-^ I am worried that this program doesn't have a spell check function or something to that effect, so I apologise for any mistakes! Why must technology be so _un_user friendly, so often?

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed lately! Lots of geek in this chapter! XD

..

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><p><em><strong>Go No Further<strong>_

_Part 33: A Shinobi's Pride_

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><p>Tsunade had eventually kicked Sakura out of the hospital well into the early hours of the morning and for once, the younger kuniochi hadn't complained; she went immediately home and just about managed to undress herself before falling into bed and right to sleep. She awoke in the early afternoon of the next day and took enough time for a hot meal and a shower before again leaving her apartment for the hospital.<p>

Tsunade had been concerned, but fairly hopeful that Raiden had received treatment quick enough that he shouldn't have suffered any permanent damage, but when – or whether – he would wake up was still guess work. Tsunade had given Raiden a private room within the hospital to wake up naturally, during which time he'd receive physiotherapy and continued healing, where they'd have to wait for the best.

Sakura dressed in her normal in-village gear, of her skin-tight under top, light jumper and baggy standard-issue trousers, the day was fairly warm but the breeze was still chilly; she headed straight for Tsunade's office, knocking on the door before entering,

"Tsunade-sama,"

"Ah, Sakura, now that you're here, I want you to do something for me," Tsunade rummaged in one of the pile of papers before dragging a small scrap out, "You need to go and let Raiden's father know what had happened – this is his address,"

"What?" Sakura stepped forward to take the piece of paper, despite her surprise; she looked down at the paper, knowing where to go,

"His father should be notified of the situation – go and see him, will you?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama…and after?"

"Relax, Sakura, I'll want your report by late tomorrow, but take it easy for a few days," She wasn't anticipating that,

"H-hai, Hokage-sama," Sakura bowed politely, as Tsunade dismissed her Sakura wandered out of the administration building and back down the street she'd come; the pink haired kuniochi had never been to Raiden's house before nor had she met his father (she'd once met Akihiko's mother, as she was fussing over him one day – Sakura found herself laughing at how embarrassed he looked that day…but this only served to remind her of how she had to break the news to her other two teammates…) and why had Tsunade directed her with such specific use of 'father', was his mother absent?

Sakura pushed her further questions from her mind and decided that the worst thing she could do, was pry; all she had to do was show-up, deliver the news that his son had befallen a serious injury, was in a coma and they had no idea when he was to wake up. Sakura sighed heavily, she'd learned how to give bad news long ago when she had worked more extensively in the hospital, but she hadn't done so for quite a while in the field. Eventually reaching the house, she rapped on the door and waited patiently, checking the name on the paper once more; a fairly elderly man answered – he looked familiar somehow,

"Konnichiwa; are you Sakayana Osamu-san?"

"Hai…"

"I am Haruno Sakura, Raiden's captain," She bowed as she introduced herself,

"Oh!" His eyes flooded with recognition and he immediately dipped his head in politeness, "Forgive my abruptness, please come in, Haruno-san," He stood aside as Sakura wandered into his house, he led her to the kitchen and invited her to sit at the table, which she graciously did, "Would you like some tea, Haruno-san? Raiden has spoken highly of you," She didn't think it right to refuse his hospitality,

"Please, and just 'Sakura' is fine," He nodded again, smiling lightly, before he turned to begin boiling some water,

"Am I right in thinking something has happened, that you are here but my son is not?"

"You are," The elder nodded, but didn't say anything further, "I would imagine that he had told you about the tournament in Wind Country he and I were participating in?"

"He did,"

"Unfortunately, Raiden sustained a serious head injury and I induced a coma in him to protect his brain whilst I worked to fix the problem. Although his is now injury free, he has not awoken from his coma and I am not certain when he will," Osamu didn't say anything as he turned from the side and carried over a pot of tea and two cups, "Sumimasen [more formal apology]," Sakura bowed low as Osamu poured out some tea and placed cup in front of her,

"How long ago was he injured?"

"Approximately four days ago…we arrived back in Konoha late last night,"

"Sou…how was he injured?"

"He was fighting an opponent in the tournament and he utilised a new jutsu creating a field of mist around him, his opponent carelessly used a lightening elemental jutsu and he received a severe electric shock," The elder man nodded slightly and fell silent for a few moments,

"I had wanted an heir to continue my trade, but he insisted on becoming ninja instead…so dangerous! I am a weaponsmith, though, I am very close to ninja, despite being a civilian,"

"O-oh! I thought you seemed familiar, you work alongside Uukio-san and Kouhei-san, do you not?"

"Yes, that it is correct…I specialise in kunai and tantō creation,"

"I have always found your blades to be the most durable and effective for close-quarters fighting, thank you for providing us with such effective weapons,"

"It is a pleasure, really," He smiled lightly, but was gone as soon as it appeared, "But he insisted on studying to become a ninja…who was I to stop him? Haa, where is he in the hospital?"

"In room 417, would you like me to escort you there?"

"No, it's alright…although, there is one other thing, please excuse me for a moment," He rose from the table and walked away, further into the house; he returned a few minutes later carrying a small, elongated box, "He asked me to make this for you, your birthday is coming up, isn't it?"

"Uh…" In truth, she hadn't really given it much thought – why would Raiden know that, anyway? Osamu smiled lightly, as he sat back at the table and pushed the box towards her,

"He wanted you to have this, please accept it,"

"H-how can I?" She made no move to touch it, waiting for his answer,

"He loved you…but, not in that way! Let's see, I think he thought of you as a sister, a precious family member he never had. His mother left when he was young and was a bad mother to him...he never really got on with women very well…at least until he met you," Sakura thought back, now that Osamu had mentioned it, Raiden _was_ a little contemptuous of her when they'd first met, but she'd always assumed that was due to his age and the arrogance of most men at that time in their lives, she'd had no idea it was because of something deeper.

"Osamu-san…"

"Please, Sakura…open it," Hesitantly, she did as asked, sliding the box a little closer, she un-clipped the two fasteners and titled the lid up, her eyes widening slightly as she set eyes on the exquisite blade, "Its made of cherry wood is – Raiden said it would be most appropriate and I see he was correct; the blade will also respond to your chakra nature," Sakura picked it up, noting that it was perfectly weighted for her; the handle and sheath were primarily made of the hard wood overlaid with thin wrought metal given a dull gold finish in the tangled, stylised image of plant life.

Half way down, the tangled metal work gave way to bare wood upon which two koi swimming about a lotus in bloom. Upon the handle, a band around the hilt, about a half an inch deep was a sakura branch with evenly spaced blooming flowers which was mirrored on the sheath directly below the hilt. Above the band and stretching for a further inch or two was again the stylized pattern of the tangle of plants; at the top of the handle, a second band was displayed another loop of branches, with a bird sat upon them, amid more sakura flowers (this same band was repeated at the bottom of the sheath, as well).

It was feminine in an understated and classical way, while the metal work was given a gold finish, the koi, birds, lotus and sakura flowers were finished in silver – all tones were fairly muted and the work was to a sublime quality although obviously handmade giving a rustic realism to the tantō – a blade made for battle rather than display. She unsheathed it, noting the perfect and well sharpened blade edge,

"Osamu-san, this tantō is one of the most exquisite I have seen, it will be treasured," She sheathed the blade and bowed low to the man across the table from her; he smiled back at her,

"Thank you for looking after my son; it was a pleasure to make such a sword for you," Osamu rose to his feet and picked up the small box – allowing her to replace the tantō into it, after which his flipped the small latched closed securing it and waited for Sakura to find her feet before she accepted the box. They made their way back out of the house as Sakura turned to him, bowing once more,

"Thank you, Osamu-san, I will leave you here, but please know that Tsunade-sama and I are doing everything we can to aide Raiden's recovery,"

"Thank you," With that, Sakura disappeared in a puff of smoke although she didn't immediately return home, she instead took herself off to one of the more secluded training grounds to relax for a while and think over all that had happened in the afternoon. And maybe test out her new chakra blade – she'd never had a tantō which reacted to her specific chakra _nature_ before.

* * *

><p>Dear <em>Kami<em> he'd never been so tempted…he'd suffered temptation before, of course he had – from staying up all night so that he could read the new _Icha __Icha_ volume, instead of organising team reports to wondering if, _if_ buying that new book was worth it (6,000 Ryous – expensive, yes, but it _was_ a rare, special edition from his second favourite author (Jiraiya of course taking the top spot), including some bonus material not before published, from whom he hadn't read anything by in months and really, who else did he have to pay for besides himself? He could dupe Naruto into paying for a few meals and it would all balance out…) _anyway_, temptation…

Kami knows he'd suffered it before but not like this…nothing like this. If Tsunade knew she'd _kill_ him but he couldn't focus on anything else, he'd tried, _Icha__ Icha__ Flirting__ (Vol__2.)_ but it was no good, it just reminded him even more of the predicament he's in – Sakura would kill him too. Damn it, he's now alone, his walk having taken him to the training grounds and there really isn't anything to stop him…deciding to risk it, he pocketed his book, pushed up his haitai-ate and began to scrub at his sharingan eye with a ferocity he hadn't used since he was a child.

Disappointingly, it only provided half the relief from the itch and ache in his eye – substituting most of it for sharp pain, it was weeping again and Kakashi was forced to try and recall if it had ever ached so badly when it had first been transplanted – it had ached and wept, but it could get the urge to rub it under control. He noticed, when they faced Sanosuke, just how blurry his vision had gotten and how much he had to focus just to be able to see the shuriken – he was almost tempted to thank luck that he'd managed to send it to another dimension in time – and then switching to trap him in a genjutsu instantaneously didn't do him any favours.

Kakashi pulled his hand from his eye and closed his other one, so as to look through the borrowed eye; he couldn't immediately discern what he was looking at. It was a mass of blurred lines in a crimson world, narrowing the eye, he managed to focus on a nearby tree and after a few seconds, he reached around to grab a shuriken and aimed up. The tree continued to dance for a few more moments, before he flicked his wrist, and to his sharingan, it looked as though he'd hit his mark, but there was no tell-tale 'thunk' of metal piercing wood,

"You were off by about four inches… It's finally deteriorated far enough, huh?" Kakashi span around, his sharingan could only see a blob roughly humanoid shape close to his own height (seemed to be dancing slightly); he recognised the voice as Sakura's instantly, however.

"Sorry, I was just looking for a quiet corner and you walked right past me," Kakashi meant to pull his headband down again, but he couldn't resist a quick swipe over the again irritated organ, "Let me take a look; if it's the optic nerve there's a chance I can at least ease the discomfort," He was still a little hesitant, himself not even sure _why_, but he was definitely dubious of allowing Sakura to poke around in his eye; instead, he opted for changing the subject,

"What's in the box? Bought yourself a new tantō?"

"Close," She offered a sad-ish sort of smile, "It was a present Raiden was going to give me," She unhooked the latches and showed him,

"Wow, that's a very beautiful specimen…where did he get it?" Sakura lowered herself to a seat on the grass, turning the box around to look at the bade again herself,

"I never realised this, but I'm sure you know Uukio's weaponsmiths? Raiden's father works there – he specialises in the tantō and kunai making. He made me this…Raiden asked him to make it for me," Kakashi took a seat beside her, reaching for the tantō,

"May I?" Sakura nodded as he picked it up, handling it carefully, "It is truly remarkable…why did Raiden want to give it to you?"

"For some reason, he knew my birthday was coming up – his father said it was supposed to be a gift for that time,"

"Aah," Kakashi gently unsheathed it, noting how it was much too light for him and so surmised it was truly a personal gift, "I'm happy that you have teammates that care for you so," They met eyes as Kakashi handed the weapon back to her,

"Hmm, I tried not to be friendly with them, after all they were there to follow orders, not be my 'mates'…and I suppose I was still a little bitter over Naruto at the time, but they seemed to slip through anyway,"

"I think it's good,"

"Hmm," She looked back down at the blade in her hands before replacing it into the box and closing it, placing the gift beside her, directing her eyes back up to watch the clouds, "Thanks, by the way, for taking care of Sanosuke's shuriken and trapping him in genjutsu…the fight would have gone on for far too long, if you hadn't," She dropped her voice to a low whisper as they began discussing a shady topic

"No problem…it's a worry he seemed to know so much about us, though, have you found anything out about him or how he might have made contact with a Konoha nin?" Sakura shook her head,

"Not yet, Tsunade has Kotetsu searching to see if he's ever actually set foot in the village – based on his appearance – and I've given the archive-guys a drawing of one of his transport seals to see if its recognised…unfortunately, we have no way to ever trace who he might be working with or where his base of operations are,"

"He sounded pretty certain that he was coming to look for you sooner or later,"

"That leaves the door open for a lot of attack – he could request me by name for a faux-mission, maybe,"

"Whatever happens, it's more important that we find out who told him, whether he's got a spy in Konoha or whether there are just a few nosy nin who happen to have seen you in action and pieced it together…what about your teammates? You said that you've only spoken to Tsunade-sama and myself about it, but…"

"I haven't used the technique in front of them and I haven't told them either – I haven't yet really had need to use it on a mission and I make a habit of not trusting people with more than what they absolutely need to know…Unless someone overheard me discussing it with Tsunade-sama or witnessed us training, then I'm at a loss…but, may I take another look at the Fourth's book? I'd like to look at it with reference to countering the technique rather than for how he manipulated chakra,"

"Sure…but on that, how do you hide your research? If he does have a contact here in Konoha…"

"I know, I know…its well hidden, but if you know what to look for, then it's a bit more obvious," Sakura sighed,

"Don't worry, Sakura, now that we know, we can work to defend against it," She shifted her gaze over to him to find him offering a reassuring smile, he cringed, though, as a bolt of pain shot through his eye,

"What is it?" She shifted around to face him, as he clutched a hand over his eye, though not yet moving his forehead protector,

"It's…it's nothing, Sakura," She tugged gently at his wrist, getting him to move his hand away as he met her eye with an expression she couldn't quite read, she curled her fingers over the underside of his make-shift eye-patch, but she didn't yet apply any pressure,

"Let me take a look, Kakashi," He didn't appear convinced, but neither did he move away so she took it as a silent invitation; gently pushing up his headband, before pulling it off all together, she shuffled a little closer until she was kneeling between his outstretched legs, she dropped her left hand to his jaw, holding his head still and her right palm over his sharingan, her fingertips brushing over his cheek bone and top of his ear.

She activated her probing, medicinal chakra and tentatively reaching into the eye, moving swiftly through the vitreous humour before she reached the abnormal optic nerve. It was far thicker than what his normal should be – given that he possessed no true ocular kekkei genkai – but it was difficult to tell if it engorged state was due to it being Obito's optic nerve or if it was irritated. As she moved further down the nerve, she could detect a mass of chakra, seemingly localised in the eye – as though it were gathered ready for use, but nothing was happening and the excess chakra had nowhere to go. She paused to analyse the chakra pathways, being careful not to disturb it,

"This is fascinating, your chakra is badly bunched in the optic nerve and that is causing a lot of damage…the closest thing I can liken it to, is Naruto's rasen-shuriken, in the way his wind chakra entered each cell and severed the chakra pathway, the massive build up in the delicate nerve cells are degrading them and the chakra pathways. I'm going to try and draw the excess chakra away," She began to tease out the excess chakra – Kakashi hissed in pain as his hand jumped to her wrist, "Hold on, don't fight me," She tried to reassure although his grip was still tight around her arm.

"I think that's what causing the blindness, there such an excess of chakra flowing through the pathways in the optic nerve and its degrading them. When you form a jutsu and direct it down your arms, even if you cancel the jutsu before its naturally been completed, there are enough other cells surrounding to allow the chakra to dissipate and not cause any problems. But the optic nerves are proportionately tiny and the chakra's got nowhere to go…" she pulled her hand away from his eye, "How does that feel?" He blinked a few times before looking up at her,

"Better, there's only three of you, now," She smiled lightly,

"Kakashi, after you use the sharingan, particularly after using the mangekyou, I want you – when you're able – to exercise the sharingan to help get rid of the excess chakra…memorize how your eye feels now I've draw away all the excess chakra," He nodded, looking around slightly, "When exercising to draw away the remaining chakra, you'll need to be careful, its an insidious thing and will try to draw from your inherent core chakra reserve instead so make sure you concentrate enough to draw it _from_ the optic nerve,"

"I should be able to do that," Sakura nodded again,

"If you aren't able to work free the built up chakra, I can manually withdraw it, if I'm around…this won't prevent you going blind, but it will significantly slow the process, depending on how quickly you dissipate it after you've used the mangekyou...although its a bit late for it to have any real impact, it will reduce the pain you'll be in," Kakashi squeezed his sharingan eye closed for a moment,

"I guess that the optic nerve isn't your natural one and when you draw your own chakra through it – it combines with the chakra already residing in those cells…if you were an Uchiha then you probably would have an eternal mangekyou – as far as I can guess that how's the eternal one is obtained through the combining of two compatible chakras which temper each other…sort of how black "positive" chakra and white "negative" chakra interact with each other in non-elemental jutsu usage – but since you have no naturally acquired Uchiha blood, then you will go blind,"

"Aah, I've always known this…but I guess you end up hoping just to get one more day from it and I've been lucky to have it for so long…but I guess it's just at an end," She offered a rueful smile,

"May I take another look to see how the optic nerve is now, without the built up chakra?" He nodded and turning his head slightly allowing her to more easily press her palm against his eye, "That's better…you must have been in some serious discomfort,"

"Heh, you know I'm not one to complain…" Although Sakura's eyes were closed he could tell she rolled them in exasperation as he grinned lightly, "But it was feeling as though someone had tied a knot in the nerve,"

"Hmm…has it always felt like that? Or is this pain a more recent development?"

"It would feel like this if I'd really pushed myself…but its more easily pushed into that state as the years have gone by,"

"Well, that should sort you out until you next use it extensively and in between times, try not to rub it too much,"

"Hai, hai…"

"I wonder what will happen when you're finally blind? Do you think the sharingan will shut itself off? If it doesn't then there's a chance it will still eat chakra," _Eh?_

"…That's a good question…I hadn't given it any thought, to be honest,"

"Well, if it becomes an issue, I'm fairly sure I could shut it down, or at least prevent it from drawing any chakra from you," Kakashi nodded as he reached over his to haitai-ate and began to untie the knot in it so he could replace it around his eye,

"Either way, my concerns now revolve around re-training myself not to depend on the sharingan...especially after a certain _defeat_ during the tournaments, people might lose faith in me," He looked distinctly unimpressed, as Sakura tried, but failed, to bite back a laugh,

"Ahahaha, well you sounded a little _too_ confident of your victory before we even started…I though perhaps you could do with a reality check," He sighed lightly, as he tied his headband back around his head as Sakura rose to her feet, he swiftly followed suit,

"But it would help to have someone to train with as I re-adjust to having no sharingan," Sakura nodded,

"Sure…irony aside, training at the old Uchiha compound would probably help – all of the traps Ibiki set up would be a work out for someone with two good eyes,"

"Why does that sound as though you nearly got scuppered with it?" She grinned a sort of semi-embarrassed smile,

"Apparently, I'm a better gymnast than I gave myself credit for," He couldn't quite resist laughing at the mental image,

"Ha-ha! Well, in that case, do you fancy a spar?"

"Now? No, sorry, I need to go and tell Akihiko and Taiki what's happened…how about tomorrow, instead?" He nodded,

"That sounds fine, meet back here at oh-eight hundred?" Sakura nodded again, dipping to pick up her box,

"See you then," Kakashi waited for a few minutes as she disappeared in a blur of movement as Kakashi turned on his heel and walked slowly in the direction of his garden, his mind automatically forming different scenarios about what could happen to Sakura. He was worried too, that he wouldn't be able to provide effective back-up for her with the deterioration of his sharingan and the thought of Sakura heading into battle without anyone she could rely on to back her up, did not sit well with him…he arrived in the small garden and, upon noticing how dry the soil was, he set about watering.

He'd have to see Tsunade-sama a little later, Sakura shouldn't be sent on any solo missions whilst this guy and any potential traitors within Konoha were still, ostensibly, unknown quantities; they'd have to step up training too. He silently cursed the timing of Sanosuke, just as his sharingan was finally on its last legs, he'd have to show up and prove to be an enemy he couldn't easily cope with – even _with_ his precious, gifted eye.

Kakashi was confident in Sakura's ability, but he could see her lack of comfort in using it in a battle situation and she'd wasted chakra whilst fighting him...Sakura would have her work cut out for her until she'd be truly comfortable using the Jutsu in battle. Kakashi set aside the little watering can and set about slicing off the various deadheads he found, some species hadn't yet bloomed and the overall predominant colour was still green; he found himself smiling at thinking back over her help with his sharingan, he didn't think anyone could help him, but it was so like Sakura to think around a problem and make the best use of relatively simple ideas for a solution.

Kakashi sighed, lightly, he couldn't help but feel slightly reassured by Sakura's lack pointed reaction to his sight deterioration – perhaps somewhere he'd irrationally assumed that with the loss of his sharingan, some of her respect for him would likewise wane. Kakashi took a last look over his garden, before he turned and made his way back into Konoha – he needed to hand his report in to the Godaime and to talk to her.

He was certain that Tsunade would agree to keep Sakura in the village for the next few weeks specifically so that they could both train up together; he knew he wouldn't be happy until Sakura was as comfortable with her Ichiji-tekina sakkaku no jutsu as she was with a Goukakkyuu or a kage bunshin. This of course, would take years, not just two or three weeks, but giving her that time to focus on the technique would be invaluable and would make a significant difference as to whether Sakura returned from the inevitable battle alive or not.

Kakashi had enjoyed sparring with her (despite a few unfortunate consequences) but he found himself looking forward to tomorrow and, he was mildly surprised to realise, that he was also looking forward to remembering how much chakra he had (or could use) without the sharingan limiting him so. One of the most important objectives he had to fulfill, however, was to ascertain who was talking – how likely was it that they held malicious intent?

Was it someone who hadn't realised the implication of what they knew, and gave no thought to the consequences of speaking? Kakashi didn't like the thought of either scenario – having loose tongued, undisciplined or foolish shinobi were almost as dangerous an any intent driven enemy... Perhaps Naruto could provide him with some insight into the general temperaments of those in the village using his activating the Kyuubi chakra, it was a bit of a long shot, but he wasn't willing to overlook anything which could possibly help protect Sakura.


	34. Chapter 34

Okay! This chapter does possess some material which could count as spoilers if you aren't up-to-date (i.e. volume 54/55+) so there will be some info you may not be familiar with...Also, apologies that the last chapter wasn't terribly exciting, lol, I hope this one is more so ^-^

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><p><em><strong>Go No Further<strong>_

_Part 34: Illusions _

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><p>Genma stretched his arms over his head as he walked down the street towards the Godaime's office, he'd been summoned at an un-godly hour that morning and he was desperately trying to wake up and stop himself yawning and looking as though he'd just risen from the dead. Having spent just a little too much time out the previous evening, and, perhaps, having had one glass too many of sake, (it had been a rough few days and the first time in a good few weeks he decided to give in and relax, the Godaime wanted to see him, typical!)<p>

But, his beloved Hokage wished to see him and he would oblige – after all, he knew she had fairly similar opinion to saké as himself, and as a consequence, they generally weren't called in too early; if it was before eight in the morning, it must be serious indeed! He knocked on the door and entered when called as he spotted Sakura stood in front of the Godaime's desk,

"Tsunade-sama...Sakura," He greeted, nodding lightly as the pink-haired kuniochi who nodded her own greeting back to him,

"Ah, Genma, there you are, I have a task for you...as one of the Fourth's personal guards,"

"Eh?" His eyes widened slightly, "Its been a while since I've been referred to as that,"

"Indeed. Genma, Sakura will explain the details of this to you, but it is top secret – under no circumstances are you to repeat anything the two of you discuss with anyone else, unless Sakura specifically requests it,"

"What's this about?" Sakura turned her head slightly to meet his eye,

"We've got some serious enemies who're using a variant of the Yondaime Hokage's Hiraishin no jutsu..."

"W-what? How is that possible?"

"How did the Fourth create it originally? The 'how' matters less than other things – apparently, you are also able to use that jutsu and I need to know as much about it as you do,"

"But...uh..." He flicked his eyes between the kuniochi to his left and the Hokage in front of him,

"Ordinarily, Genma, I wouldn't ask you to reveal so much about your technique even to a fellow Leaf nin, but there are some serious things going on that Sakura will explain to you, please be as honest with her as you are able... I'll have Raidou and Nashin* brought to you if necessary."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," Both nin bowed politely and Sakura lead to way to a secure room Tsunade had allowed her to set up prior to Genma's arrival. Tsunade observed carefully as both nin left the room, she sincerely hoped that Genma would prove both to be of help and to prove his innocence.

Tsunade didn't doubt Genma's loyalty but there were such jutsu which could make one forget himself and since Genma is the next best person for information on the Hiraishin no jutsu, after the now deceased Fourth, he was an obvious target for an enemy to strike at. Still, they had limited options for the moment and Sakura was right, the processes of both elimination and preparation would be of major benefit to them – even if Genma had been coerced against his will or otherwise, to know at least as much as the enemy would be the most prudent measure.

...

Tsunade didn't like the look of the scroll the second she set eyes on it; it had the purple edges of an official scroll, but she had had no inkling that anything was on the cards, so to speak; she was also worried about the recent developments which had occurred in the ninja world since the tournament. Its impact had been interesting although not completely unexpected; many of the syndicates and organistions (as well as smaller shinobi villages) had begun to 'headhunt' some of the shinobi they liked the look of, those shinobi who acted for money, power or the lust for blood and battle were fairly easily swayed and their allegiances could be brought for a high enough price.

In many respects – her own view perhaps swayed by living in Konoha again – she found the very idea somewhat a betrayal of the meaning of shinobi; in Tsunade's eyes, the very meaning of existence for nin was their loyalty to their village (or, she bristlingly conceded, their organisation) – they were protectors by nature, but how good was any protection if it could be brought for a price? She dearly hoped that her shinobi were, therefore stronger, as they fought for Konoha and had something more beloved to protect than a pay-check...even though it _was_ money which made the world turn 'round...

_Kami-sama_ she was giving herself a headache with her worrying, the damn scroll had come too late in the day for all of this! Sighing, she snapped open the seal on it anyway and unfurled the document, her eyes scanning over the relatively little contents, it was from the Kazekage and outlined his concerns – that some of their shinobi had been approached by a no-name and asked them to join their organisation. Gaara said that all shinobi approached were Chuunin (or tokabetsu jounin) and all by someone different – in both appearance and from where they claim to be from.

Although it wasn't something unheard of, it was fairly rare – many of the lower shinobi wouldn't risk their necks asking for the highly improbable – the increase was, Gaara suggested, due to the exposure given by the tournaments. Tsunade had noted that a number of her own nin had reported being approached, usually after a mission and on the return journey, but she hadn't though it something to worry about – what Gaara was suggesting was that shinobi were being targeted by their reputation and skills, disregarding the system of villages and country affiliation.

It certainly would be a significant upset to the system of the ninja villages if the shinobi began to leave to join other, higher paying organisations...after the wars, power returned, but it was unstable at best and it was between the Five Great Nations that they could protect the balance of power, but if the ninjas' allegiances began to crumble from within, then chaos would not be far behind...shit, she'd have to call a meeting for all Jounin and Chuunin soon, whatever this was, it needed nipping in the bud.

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><p>Sakura ducted the first wave, before leaping aside and gripping a fistful of kunai to hurl at the second wave, successfully deflecting them as she flashed through the seals for the Goukakkyuu no jutsu which blasted just as a clone of Naruto made an appearance. She destroyed the kage bunshin but she knew the real one wouldn't be far away.<p>

Naruto had joined hers and Kakashi's training session, at his behest; Kakashi had asked Sakura to allow Naruto to help her as the Copy Nin would be working without his sharingan (as a part of his own training) and that it would do Sakura the world of good to fight against a friendly, but unknown opponent – and one who could move as fast as physically possible without the use of a space-time ninjutsu – not to mention the fact that Kakashi wouldn't really prove much of a match for her without his sharingan (something which he internally pouted over).

Sakura had eventually agreed with a somewhat sullen expression – Kakashi was, surprisingly, sympathetic and understood that she didn't particularly want to 'open to door to him' so to speak, but she too understood that it _was_ a necessity and that she should begin to slowly rebuild from the ashes of their old relationship. Kakashi had done the talking to Naruto (saying that he wouldn't have any trouble in getting Naruto to both respect him and listen to his wishes which, unfortunately, Sakura _would_ have difficulty with).

The once-teammate agreed and they met at the Uchiha compound and began a 'two-on-one' campaign of Naruto and Kakashi against Sakura – as soon as they'd begun fighting, it brought back memories of the training session with the three ANBU teams and Sakura remembered how she'd used her jutsu then (and wanted to slap her forehead at how she'd forgotten who must have seen it at that time and the more experienced nin would probably be able to tell it was a space-time from just observing, damn she'd allowed her irritation with Naruto to get the better of her).

She shook her head and cleared the thoughts from her mind, deciding that it would do her no good to worry about such things now, they'd already been sparring for quite a few hours and Sakura would need all the chakra and concentration she could get so wasting energy on worrying was nothing productive – instead, she dashed forward in preparation to attack Naruto who had just created three kage bunshin, Sakura leapt forward, flipping around to bring her heel down onto one of the clones.

It blocked the attack with its upraised forearms just as Sakura leant back to drag her elbow down onto the second clone, destroying it; she flipped over again she leapt back allowing her to fly through the seals for the Goukakkyuu no jutsu; just as the grand fireball dissipated, Naruto came leaping down from her back-left and she unsheathed her tantō and clashed blades with Naruto's kunai. The pink-haired kuniochi just had time to direct her chakra to her opening points and enshrouded the tantō before pulling back from Naruto as Kakashi came bursting up from the ground.

His fist passed straight through her currently intangible chest as Sakura hopped backwards, removing the chakra from her tantō and below her right wrist so that she could keep a grip on the sword (as well of course, the automatic absence of chakra to the soles of her feet so that she could stand atop the ground). Kakashi suddenly threw a handful of shuriken at her but they passed straight through, Sakura tugging her arm out of the way to avoid the one aimed at her hand before she dashed forward, adapting her chakra to cover only her torso, leaving her arms and legs tangible as normal to allow for attack.

They clashed blades and Sakura got a good, clean strike, knocking Kakashi backwards before she completely cancelled her jutsu, her chakra too low to keep it up and expect to utilise another jutsu so as to win against Kakashi. They exchanged a few kicks and punches, before Sakura gripped her tantō again as Kakashi prepared a jutsu of his own; Sakura channeled her chakra down the blade, it gaining tongues of flame down either side o the metal.

The kuniochi darted forward again, slashing through the wave of mud which appeared from beneath her feet and so countering it, as she carried on towards Kakashi; he had only just enough time to leap back out of the way as the tip of her flaming tantō caught his flack jacket and cut a huge gash into it, searing the loose edges; unfortunately that strike was nearly the last of Sakura's chakra and stamina and she couldn't quite help herself collapsing forward.

Kakashi appeared in front of her at just the right time, so that she leant against his chest, a loose arm snaking around her waist to help keep her steady, she couldn't be bothered to protest or try to move away, besides, he was at the perfect height that it was, actually, a fairly comfortable position – given her fatigue.

"Your timing and execution are much better, but you seem to wear out quickly, Sakura, I think its your stamina we need to focus on next," He made a point of keeping his voice as dispassionate as he could manage, although he was struggling to get his own breathing under control, he still hadn't used up nearly as much chakra as she, but he was still damn tired. Naruto leapt down from the rooftops, looking strangely at the pair,

"What are you guys doing?"

"Just...resting..." Sakura managed, as Naruto frowned slightly,

"No fair, Kakashi if I'd collapsed like that you would have just let me drop!" Naruto landed on the pavement as Kakashi lowered Sakura to a seat on the ground,

"Actually, I've saved you from a nasty fall more than once, Naruto, if you'll remember correctly...but anyway, as strong as Sakura is, she is still a woman and its not right to allow a woman to befall an injury if you can help it," Kakashi stated in a somewhat bored tone as Sakura rolled her eyes, snorting slightly,

"Yea, and I'm supposed to believe you're the authority on the 'correct treatment of women', Kakashi?" Her voice thickly laced with playful incredulity, although she silently noted his use of the term 'woman' instead of 'girl', this was very pleasing,

"Sakura! I'll have you know that I'm really quite popular with women," Said kuniochi's face dropped into an expression of utmost disbelief as Naruto burst out laughing,

"Ahaha! Could you imagine Kakashi on a date? Ahaha!" Sakura couldn't quite hide her smile fast enough as it was now Kakashi's turn to look thoroughly unimpressed as he shifted his one-eyed gaze from the pink-haired kuniochi next to him to the cackling blonde stood a few meters away; Sakura quickly got a grip on herself, however, both unable and slightly unwilling to picture Kakashi in such a scenario,

"Anyway, I should be alright in a few moments and we can start again," Kakashi nodded,

"Focus on resting for now, Sakura, it'll do no good to injure yourself here," She agreed somewhat half-heartedly,

"I know, I know,"

"Naruto, what notes do you have? What weaknesses in Sakura's style were easily visible to you?" Kakashi rose to his feet as he directed his question to the blonde, who rested his bent forefinger under his nose as he thought over the past few hours,

"Hmm...I guess the biggest problem was like the one that Tobi guy used to have – that to attack you have to be solid and that's something obvious to aim for...there were times when it was really easy to predict when you were about to switch from defence to offence,"

"It is just because you know that I have to solidify to attack, or because my moves are predicable?"

"Uh... A bit of both, I guess,"

"I think its more that I already know you have to become tangible and so based on that I can make predictions...a typical fight is offence-defence-offence that is a basic pattern that doesn't change, no matter what style of fighting an opponent uses, for it to be a fight there must be those two components. Every fighter knows that and its something assured...you'll have to use it to your advantage..."

"How? Make him complacent?" Kakashi pursed his lips slightly, before nodding in acknowledgement of her concern, easily reading between the lines, "Besides, at the same time, he's got his own advantage of not having to worry about physically evading an attack, he can just teleport to the next seal and attack in the time it will take me to respond and get on the defensive,"

Sakura sighed lightly, running a hand through her hair, as Kakashi took a breath in to form a reply, but she continued, "Well, I'll figure something out! In the mean time, my reaction speed and stamina should be top of my list for improvement," She rose to her feet as her stomach grumbled slightly, "Ugh, but first, I'm starving – how about lunch?" Both men easily grinning their agreement with her suggestion.

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><p>"You do understand, don't you? The timing will be absolutely critical...the seal had finally been incorporated into your haori and you only need to focus a minute amount of your chakra to it and I'll get the signal...remember, this will only work if she's alone...and even so, she <em>is<em> one of the best medic-nins in the Fire Country so realistically, you'll only get one shot,"

"I know, I was thoroughly briefed, Sanosuke-sama,"

"Good...it'll take us four days to get to Konoha anyway and it must all be executed flawlessly between now and then...if we get this right, she'll have no option but to fight me,"

"But...Sanosuke-sama, don't you think you're taking this a bit far? I mean, if this works, and it ends exactly the way you want it to, then won't you be permanently on the run? Almost everyone will be after you,"

"Whilst that is true, let me tell you something about how I view this world of ours, Senri; after the Fourth Great Ninja World War, everyone faced losses – literally everyone, every shinobi and nation was involved one way or another, and it _is_ thanks to the involvement of the Five Great Nations that we all stand here today, but, what happened after?

"The Great Nations still had enough resources to begin rebuilding their villages and shinobi populations, even without the power of the bijuu; but having faced another war, no nation was desperate enough to want to start anything up – helped of course, by the camaraderie forged during heated battle – but that left those whose initial power was weak, weaker still.

"It was this comradeship which allowed the crime organisations to rise as well; before, each country would quash any syndicate – especially those with ninjas on their side – which became too big since they would have opened the door for other countries to attack by undermining the authority and reach of the ninja village.

"But now, whilst there are still tensions, no country dare makes a move – there's too much to lose, but the crime organisations have been springing up like bamboo shoots, all due to the preoccupation of the ninja villages rebuilding themselves, complacence of the Kages and the many wandering ninja who lost their villages, homes and comrades altogether."

Sanosuke seated himself at the small table, lifting a cup of tea to his lips, and gestured for Senri to join him, "Hence, the power is now divided not only between the Five Great Nations but between the Five Great Nations _and_ the syndicates who are smart enough to operate on the quiet. Now, bearing all of that in mind, think about what would happen to the balance of power if-" The door to their meeting room suddenly opened and a nin stepped into the room,

"My apologies, Sanosuke-sama, but Mifure-sama requests your presence," Sanosuke lowered his cup back down onto the desk,

"Ah, then I must go an see him, we'll have to continue this at a later time, Senri," Senri rose to his feet and bowed as his superior left the room,

"Of course, Sanosuke-sama," Senri, rose back up straight as he was left alone again, sighing lightly, sensing that no matter what happened, this mission would surely be one which claimed his life. He began to organise his back-pack for the long trip beginning tomorrow – he'd never been to the land of Fire before, nor, in fact, even out of the northern territory of Kaminari no kuni [Land of Lightening] but he was looking forward to upsetting the balance of power – how dare they claim to hold so much strength?

They and Lightening were the only countries to retain a bijuu – although Kaminari essentially 'lost' theirs, with the death of 'Killer Bee'... Damn Konoha had always been so proud preaching its peaceful ways when it was the one who held enough power to crush its enemies...well, not for much longer, anyway...

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*The third guy who uses the Hiraishin no juts with Genma and Raidou hasn't been given a name yet, so I'm just making one up for now, as I'm sure you guessed, but just to let you know it is made up, I don't really know!

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><p>Ooh! I am sooo curious about the current manga! I wonder, frankly, if Tobi is to Madara what Kabuto used to be  is to Orochimaru, if you know what I mean? A 'splinter/thorn in the side' as it were, a very intelligent, cunning, knowledgeable and deceptive splinter, but a splinter and lackey nonetheless...also, I hear a lot of speculation about Tobi, especially with recent developments and all.

(Must say: I truly _**despise**_ the idea that Tobi is Obito – it just seem way too ridiculous tbh! Even if I turn out to be wrong, it just still seems impossibly silly and/or if it _does _turn out to be that, a 'deus ex machina' at best, to me! Also, why isn't Izuna (Madara's bro) a likely candidate? Seems likely to me (Tobi could have just lied about there not being a third bro, for instance or not stealing eyes from elsewhere – its only Tobi's words we have to trust that mangekyou is through killing best friend and stealing bro's eyes to obtain mangekyou)! More likely than Obito, anyway!)

But I think its pretty assured that Tobi _is_ an actual Uchiha heir, right? (Its simple things like these which get overlooked by peeps, but could be important!) I mean, all the times we've 'seen' past the mask and seen his eye, there's been a sharingan (not a mangekyou, though!) but what does this realistically mean? Could he be like Kakashi but know how to shut it off? My point, really, is that I see Tobi as being a Kabuto-like character – 'back-in-the-day' he wasn't at the forefront (i.e. Madara was) but knew a _hell_ of a lot about the politics/jutsu/people etc (just as Izuna would, maybe? ;)) ...what do you guys think?


	35. Chapter 35

My o my! What a long wait for a chapter! Apologies for the lateness, the week between Christmas and New Year I was without internet or computer and I had a spot of writers' block over the details of the conclusion of this chapter -.-' but! Things begin to move in this chapter! ^-^ [_Finally! _Lol]

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><p><em><strong>Go No Further<strong>_

_Part 35: The Lunge Of The Blade_

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><p>"Sakura-taichou, there you are!" She turned back around to see Akihiko and Taiki waving at her from a little way back down the street,<p>

"Hey, guys, how are you both doing?" She responded as they caught up a little,

"Not bad, haven't seen you for a while, though, Captain, where have you been? Its boring training without you," Taiki rolled his eyes at his teammates complaints although he couldn't quite blame him for them,

"Ahaha, sorry about that, there were a few things that Tsunade-sama wanted me to work on specifically, so..."

"Ah! When can we get back to training, then? I know Raiden's still out of it, but..."

"Don't worry, there'll be time for plenty of training soon – I'll let you know as soon as I'm free but until then, work hard! I won't go easy on you!" Both of them grinned broadly at the kuniochi's declaration before she shooed them away, her expression becoming significantly more sullen as her two ever-cheerful teammates wandered off – her instinct told her that it wouldn't be long before she faced Sanosuke again and she worried for what the battle might mean. She continued to amble down the dark street, her mind far away as he swiftly caught up to her,

"Hmm, taking a midnight stroll?" Sakura couldn't help but involuntarily roll her eyes slightly, as she shifted her gaze over to him, he was eyeing her from behind his book,

"Its nowhere near midnight," She wasn't much in the mood for playful jousting right now, but thought it unwise to betray her feelings,

"Hmm well, its closer to midnight than it is morning!"

"You need a saying to remember it, now? Don't tell me you're going senile _already!_"

"Oi, Sakura-chan, you can be so cruel sometimes! You just looked exhausted from training earlier, I would have thought that you'd already be at home, resting," She could sense his eye on her and she hoped that she was projecting the right image, she didn't trust herself to meet his gaze but she was sure he could see her smile; they continued to wander down the quiet side streets of Konoha as she considered her answer,

"Hmm, just taking a walk to clear my head,"

"Naruto seems to finally be taking you seriously,"

"Heh, yea...I didn't think I was ever going to get to fight him...I guess it _was_ a good idea to get him to help with my training,"

"A difficult admission..? Seems like you're growing up," She could more than easily detect the sarcasm in his voice,

"There's no need to be petty just because I called you senile...in fact, I didn't even _call_ you anything of the sort, I merely wondered if it might be the case," Sakura sighed as she lifted her key from her pocket, her apartment building just in front of her, "Sorry, anyway," Even if she did feel like calling him an irritating old man (irrespective of the fact he wasn't _really_ old), he was still her senior and petulance wasn't an easily forgiven sin. She planned on turning around to bid him a farewell but found him apparently planning on following her up, she eyed him carefully for a moment,

"Kakashi?"

"Hmm? Oh, do you mind if I come in for some tea? I haven't any left in my apartment and I wouldn't mind a cup before bed," She raised an eyebrow,

"Uh..."

"You haven't any either? Aah, that's a problem," She rolled her eyes, unsure how to get rid of him without being rude, although her mouth worked before her senses could,

"I do have tea, but..."

"Great!" He motioned for her to move on up the stairs as she complied, unsure what really he was after – even if they socialised the most with each other, they were still reserved enough for it raise a significant question mark over why he might want to join her for tea at this hour; or rather, demand they had tea. She knew him (and their relationship) well enough to know what would be least likely for him to want after such an invitation, but he was a mysterious man; she unlocked her apartment door and slipped of her sandals as Kakashi did the same, closing the door behind him,

"So what sort of tea do you want? I have green, oolong or jasmine," She rummaged in a few cupboards dragging out her small pot and two cups, as she set the kettle to boil; she tilted her head in his vague direction as he hadn't yet answered, only to find him stood right beside her,

"What's on your mind, Sakura?" She sighed lightly, turning away from him in a silent signal he instantly recognized,

"I...I just..." He couldn't quite stop himself from reaching out and dropping his hand onto her shoulder, his book long since pocketed, "...Can't help but wonder what it'll mean if I don't defeat him...aside from the obvious, of course; what are his underlying motives? Who'll stop him if I can't?" He squeezed her shoulder lightly,

"No one person can do everything...even if he can't be defeated by us, then his lackeys can be, and that gives us options. But, besides that, you _won't_ fail, I have absolute faith in you," She snorted lightly,

"Oh yeah..?" He squeezed her shoulder tighter still, resisting the urge to close the remaining distance between them, able to sense her need for comfort but unwilling and unable to think about what he might do to help; he sufficed with tugging her around to face him, she resisted a little but turned anyway.

"You were, once, one of my prized students, and even now, as a fellow Leaf and my friend - I _know_ your capabilities and they are many..."

"First you're going senile and now you're going soft? I don't believe it," Her playful teasing was thin and they both heard it,

"Come back alive, Sakura," She raised her head allowing their eyes to lock;

"...Kakashi..." Said nin wasn't sure why she suddenly felt so very close to him and the room equally small, but he couldn't seem to step back, if anything he wanted to step closer; his natural instinct to protect her, irrespective of her abilities, rarely faltering, even now – wishing there was something he could say or do to erase her worries. As soon as the moment occurred, it ended with a fierce knocking on her front door; Sakura tugged away, their eyes connecting again for a moment before she walked away, partially glad to be free of the stifling atmosphere. The harsh knocking returned, distracting Sakura's mind from thoughts of an entirely too confusingly reassuring (but somehow distant) Copy-Nin,

"Ye-"

"Sakura-sampai! You must hurry..!"

...

"A-are you serious?" Tsunade couldn't prevent her eyes widening in shock,

"Absolutely, Hokage-sama,"

"You want me to give up two of my best shinobi, just like 'that'?" The man nodded, smiling lightly,

"Yes...they worked very well together and were able to communicate effectively, and somewhat..._subtly,_" He thought back to their little display behind the marquee, it made for an amusing show even if he was already aware of their relationship, "You will be well compensated, of course,"

"Compensated how? The loss of such shinobi cannot be justified in money,"

"Then what would satisfy you?" He cocked his head slightly, obviously listening, his smile still fairly creepy and Tsunade wanted nothing more than to never again set eyes on him,

"To see the back of you for good. My shinobi are not for sale, not for any price or bargain – you will leave my village immediately and not return, if I see you back here or attempt in any way to procure them, you will feel first hand my wrath...as well as theirs. They are not for sale and that's final! Do I make myself clear?" The man sighed,

"Aah, he did say that you would probably be obstinate about it,"

"You don't know the meaning of the word...Kotetsu!" Said shinobi popped his head around the door,

"Hai, Hokage-sama?"

"Escort this _man_ out of my village, will you?" Kotetsu looked confused for a moment before gesturing with his hand,

"This way, please..." He redirected his attention back to the Godaime, before he left, "Uh, there is one other appointment, he's been quite insistent – he says that it's very urgent,"

"Haa...fine, send him in," Tsunade shoved a few spare sheets aside, her irritation at the man's petulance barely subsiding, how dare he think he could waltz in here and demand Kakashi and Sakura were sold to him as bodyguards..._Kami-sama_, what was the world coming to? Fool...thinking he understood them or that he could have unquestioned access to them having observed them at the tournament; the door opened again before she could continue and a young-ish man stood in front of her – he looked to be in mid-twenties although was dressed in a formal kimono,

"Konbanwa,"

"Konbanwa, Hokage-sama, I am aware its late, thank you for seeing me," Tsunade cocked her head slightly, curious as to what someone who was so young but who spoke and dressed so formally may want. He smiled politely as could as he thought back to the words his master had spoken to him the day previous, just after they'd entered the Land of Fire:

_'Just think, Senri, about what would happen to the balance of power throughout the world as a whole if we, _we_ – our little crime network took out the second most powerful ninja in the world – think about what that would mean! We could shake the very foundation of the ninja system and shove those fat-cats from their seats! Of course, fighting Sakura will be a delightful side track that should have well deflected suspicion, but more importantly, lowly little us will take out the Hokage!_

Senri focused his chakra to his back and activated the woven seal in his haori – just as Sanosuke appeared, standing behind him with a tagged kunai in one hand and a smoke bomb in the other, a huge windmill shuriken strapped to his back, the Hokage only just had time to leap to her feet and dodge the kunai thrown at her, she grabbed hold of it and clashed blades with the taller man who grinned at the gnash of blades,

"Godaime Hokage, eh? Its an honour to battle with the genius medical ninja herself," Tsunade gritted her teeth,

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Sanosuke leapt backwards and Senri had already made space by tucking himself into a corner and keeping quiet,

"A friend, I suppose, but one with a grudge not easily forgotten!" Just as Sanosuke had spoken the last of his sentence, there was a blinding flash of yellow appeared between himself and the Hokage's; stood before them, was a young man, gleaming in golden chakra and with an immense seal over his stomach,

"I think you should just stop right there,"

"My, my, who do we have here?" Sanosuke smirked as he took a step towards Naruto, who immediately created three shadow clones, "You must be the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki...this will be fun, then!" Sanosuke threw himself forward as he and Naruto exchanged a few kicks and punches, "I've wanted to fight a jinchuuriki – I hear the monsters are quite powerful," Naruto growled slightly, easily displaying his anger, as one of his kage bunshin leapt in to strike from behind but its kick was caught; Shizune suddenly burst into the room, a number of ANBU behind her,

"Tsunade-sama!" Sanosuke slid backwards, rising to his full height as the ANBU prepared to strike,

"Ah, save it-"

"The one you will be fighting is me," Sakura stepped through the doorway of Tsunade's office and the ANBU blocking it, most of whom stepped backwards in surprise, allowing her walk further into the room; the kuniochi stood facing her nemesis keeping her posture in epitome of boredom, Sanosuke turned to face her, his grin feral; Kakashi appeared at the window, ready to provide assistance to any in the room – no one moved for a moment.

"I will deal with this one - have the ANBU squads out looking for any other enemies, I doubt they would bring only two to take on Konoha," One of the ANBU at the door disappeared off to round up the teams;

"You underestimate me and my might, Sakura-chan," She merely smirked at his arrogance,

"And you appear to underestimate me..." Sakura leapt forward and they clashed kunai, "You don't seriously think you could have a serious fight with the Hokage here, do you? She could beat you even if you were alone, but yet you have the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, the Copy Nin any number of ANBU and myself here to fight you as well – and you think you can win?" She raised a slender eyebrow in belittling disbelief and Sanosuke threw his weight down his arm and forced her back and he jumped back a pace as well,

"My skills are more superior than you know – our little play-fight in the forest showed you but a minor fraction of the strength I possess,"

"Is that so? Then I have little to fear then," His face flushed with anger and he growled slightly,

"Grr, I will _make_ you see how wrong you are, and I will make you beg to take those words back!" Sakura eyed him carefully, before she lunged forward, leaning so that he would strike just as she predicted and so it threw her to the side and she landed with her back to the window, Sanosuke turning slightly to face her again,

"How about we take this somewhere a little more roomy, hmm? Its a bit cramped in here," Sakura leapt back up onto the windowsill and threw a shuriken at him which whipped past his face, nicking his ear, "Come on, what are you waiting for?" Sanosuke looked hesitant to leave, he'd been reminded that the key point of the mission was to take out Tsunade – even though his desire was to fight and defeat Sakura – but he did know that opportunity-wise, fighting Sakura could be put off where fighting the Godaime could not. _But_ she really knew how to push his buttons and he wanted nothing more than to pummel her into the ground,

"Well? Are you scared?" She cocked her head to the side, her face a picture of innocence – only serving to infuriate him further, he struggled to reign in the frown he wished to contort his face into; "C'mon Sano-chan, I thought you wanted to fight?"

Kakashi had been looking carefully between Sakura and the enemy nin, silently memorising their mannerisms and he had to admit, it was amusing watching Sakura trying to rile up Sanosuke – not only was her behaviour unusual for the kuniochi, but he could see the internal battle in Sanosuke – trying to ignore the woman's words, yet being undeniably affected by them. Kakashi was tempted to join in hen-pecking the other space-time user, but he knew his words would break the spell Sakura had cast over Sanosuke, and his interference would only return the enemy's mind to his real purpose. Sakura continued her goading and taunting and eventually he snapped,

"Fine, bitch, we will fight and I will prove your master!"

"Are you so sure?" Sanosuke growled slightly, and Sakura giggled before leaping out of the window, her laughter growing louder, "Hurry up, then!" Sanosuke leapt out of the window in a blur of movement, his previous mission forgotten in a haze of masculine pride.

They stood facing each other as Sanosuke reached slowly around to his pouches with both hands and withdrew tens of kunai, each with a small white tag attached; Sakura had lead him to one of the more secluded training grounds, as far away from the centre of Konoha as she could realistically manage.

"I will make you pay, kuniochi, doubtless you think you have an advantage over me, but you don't know anything," Sakura didn't make any sign of acknowledgement as she remained in her half crouch, ready to either strike or evade at a moment's notice. She too reached around for her tantō, which would react to her chakra and she twirled it in her hand for a moment; Sanosuke threw his handfuls of tagged kunai in a wide arc and Sakura had to leap up and deflect a number of the them from striking her as the came to rest in a messy litter all around the pink-haired kuniochi.

She knew about this – she'd read and been told that this was a favourite trick of the Yondaime's, but having such a huge number of potential coordinates to jump to, the enemy wouldn't be able to predict where the user might be at any given moment and so force the enemy nin on to such a defensive that their loss would catch them completely unawares. It was a good strategy and worked well where there were a large number of enemies to fight but it was less likely to pay as well for a one-on-one – or against someone who'd had the opportunity to study, in fairly good detail, the same aspect of the Fourth's tactics.

But Sakura was not such a fool as to assume that her enemy would duplicate everything exactly, especially as he was dealing with another space-time user; he disappeared and Sakura took a chance in whirling around with her tantō outstretched to catch him. He ducked beneath her blade and slashed at her with his own kunai, just slicing through the skin over her ribs; she darted back, he _did_ seem a little less blundering than before; Sakura began to direct her chakra to her tantō, she'd been working on it and had thought back to when she was in Getsugakure and had faced one of the ninja Shabadaba had hired who could turn flesh to stone with a touch and wondered if she could apply a similar principle.

Obviously there was no one she could practice on, but she had tried with other organic materials and found the principle was possible; she was planning on leaving her space-time usage as more of a back-up plan, using it when Sanosuke would think she wasn't going to. Sakura had to wait for him to come to her, with so many options for him, running in would only waste her energy; she organised her chakra, ready to activate her space-time jutsu anyway – she knew it would be needed before long.

Sanosuke crouched, eyeing her, she had about four tagged kunai behind her and the vast majority in front; there was only one kunai close to her left flank and all on her right side were not only out of reach of mutual strikes, but all within good view of her – she'd chosen her spot well, there was little opportunity for Sanosuke to truly catch her by surprise here. Sakura formed the seals for exploding clay clones in a split second and sent two rushing off towards him each approaching from two and ten o'clock in a sweeping arc.

Sanosuke paused to fight the one on his left which reached him first and he attempted to kick it away from him, apparently not realising that it was a bunshin bakuha and it detonated; blasting everything in its immediate vicinity far away from him – including the second clone, and its detonation was triggered. Sakura span on her heel and her sword clashed with Sanosuke's, he looked roughed over and had a few scrapes, but apparently, his timing and ability to jump was nothing to laugh at;

"You are a sneaky woman, Sakura, I'll give you that," She smirked,

"And you are not very observant," She threw the weight on her arm holding her tantō so that it forced their blades into an arc, twisting them around to the undersides and she swivelled, throwing a sharp kick to his chest, her foot charged with chakra. Sanosuke was slower at teleporting, this time, her foot connected and she felt the bone buckle beneath her; he thrust one of his kunai into her thigh, however, before he jumped to a safe distance; she looked around immediately for him, finding him a good ten meters away, where one on his kunai lay limp on the ground, having since been blasted there by the explosions of the clones.

Sakura didn't have time to think clearly or begin to heal her leg wound before Sanosuke charged again, his hands forming seals as he ran, he drew his hands apart revealing a tiny, thin wire-like stream of gleaming chakra, which, as he drew his hands further apart, grew in length until it was a good two meters in length – it looked and sounded as though it was wire made of lightening chakra. He darted forwards again and Sakura was forced to act quickly, it was not something her doton nature could realistically compete with so she immediately formed hand seals for a simple genjutsu, making it appear as though she'd run forward to meet him and had activated her space-time jutsu so that as he threw his 'whip' forward, it merely phased through her.

He teleported to one of the kunai close to where the real Sakura was, away from the illusionary one, just as the kuniochi had predicted and she turned, slashing at him with her chakra charged tantō, the tip of the sword slicing through the skin on the top of his wrist and hand. The flesh immediately began to solidify and change in colour as it slowly mutated into earth through the almost viral manipulation of her chakra.

Sanosuke stared at his hand, which had been where his chakra whip was attached, which immediately dissipated as his hand stopped responding to his urges to move and mould chakra. Within seconds his hands had taken on the exact likeness of earth and his other hand gripped it in worriment and comfort, just as he might have done if his hands had suffered a burn, but instead of providing a comfort to him, the fragile hand and wrist crumbled, leaving him with only a stump, his right wrist and hand having crumpled to dust, lost in in the earth below.

"Y-you..."

"You are arrogant, Sanosuke, did you really think you had learned all there was to know about me in our brief fight, those weeks ago? You're a fool," Sakura formed the hands seals for a Goukakkyuu no jutsu, lifting her hand to her mouth as she drew her chakra into her chest and forcefully exhaled it in one, Sanosuke leaping away to one of the other tags, but a number of which – those closest to the fireball had been destroyed.

He'd done his best to fire-proof his tags, but they couldn't withstand a full-power Goukakkyuu at close range – only those not fully engulfed in flame would have survived; but he was now on the defensive, Sakura had removed his ability to use hand seals _and _he couldn't be sure where half of his tags were – or which ones had survived the kuniochi's last attack. Shit, he was in a bad state – he didn't want to admit it, but he'd underestimated her – seriously underestimated her and it it could well cost him his life if he made any more stupid mistakes.

Calming himself as they faced each other yet again, both pausing to re-analyse the situation and catch their breaths, Sanosuke watched her, from his couched state on the balls of his feet, she looked out of breath and had used a lot of chakra, but she _hadn't_ used her space-time technique, why? Was she unable to do so, at this time? Had something happened which rendered her unable to use that particular jutsu? Since the few minutes travel to here from the Godaime's office?

Nothing he could think of, she obviously hadn't been low on chakra or she couldn't have used all of her prior flashy, chakra consuming moves, so what could it be? She moved again, this time, pulling out a shuriken with a wire attached from the pouch at her waist, she didn't immediately throw it, however, as she stepped slowly towards him, picking her way through the roughed over earth; her leg ached and still oozed blood, but it was the least of her current concerns.

"Why did you go immediately for the Hokage? Who are you working for?" His eyes flashed only in defiance,

"I work only for myself,"

"A likely story, there is no such thing as 'working only for yourself' in this world, whether you like it or not or whether you acknowledge it or not, you follow _someone __else's_ orders and someone else's will."

"He would be nothing without me!"

"Of course, there cannot be a leader without subordinates," The pink-haired kuniochi was now stood in front of Sanosuke, there being only two or so feet between them; Sakura holding the shuriken in one hand and her tantō in the other, her chakra was dangerously low but she was assured enough by the fact of his inability to form hand seals. Sakura was preparing to lunge her blade for the final and fatal strike just as Sanosuke suddenly pushed himself upright, a kunai in his hand before Sakura could blink and he thrust the blade through her chest, thankfully, her instinct and muscle-memory causing her twist at the last second that he didn't pierce her heart.

Before she could retaliate, he was gone and behind her, the windmill shuriken's tip aiming for a deadly strike but it never reached, instead, the blade made contact with a body that Sanosuke hadn't been aware was even in the vicinity.

Sakura flashed around, the seconds afforded by Kakashi, had saved her life, but possibly at the cost of his own.

* * *

><p>"Shit," Tsunade slammed her fist down on the desk as Sanosuke and Sakura disappeared, "Kakashi go after them and don't let Sakura out of your sight," Kakashi was gone so fast his 'hai' of acknowledgement became disembodied. Naruto marched over to the man still stood in the corner, Senri waited for the boy, now clad in orange and black (as his golden chakra covering dissipated) the Kaminari no kuni ninja slowly pulled a short sword from his belt and stood defensively as Naruto approached.<p>

Shizune remained close to the door, manipulating her chakra and waiting for an appropriate moment to strike, releasing a non-toxic gas which would knock their enemy unconscious for a number of hours. Naruto and Senri began to exchange a few kicks and punches for a little while, but Naruto was too swift for the respective ametuer and brought his elbow swinging around to connect with Senri's temple, flinging him to the left.

As the blonde shinobi followed up with a sharp kick to his ribs, the enemy nin bowling to the floor as Shizune exhaled a cloud of the gas, her expert chakra manipulation allowing her to exhale just enough to engulf the nin as Naruto leapt back to prevent himself being caught and rendered unconscious.

"Naruto, take this nin to Ibiki and have him begin interrogation as soon as possible, then go to the hospital and have them prepare for casualties; Shizune, go and liaise with the ANBU squads and see if they have found any other intruders into or around Konoha,"

"What about you, Tsunade-sama?" The darker haired kuniochi asked just before the Godaime disappeared out of the still open window, Naruto too looked up as he hoisted the limp form of Senri onto his shoulder preparing to take him to the interrogation squad,

"I'm going after Sakura and Kakashi...have an ANBU team back me up, Shizune,"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," The Godaime nodded and was gone, as were the other two Leafs, the urgency of the situation belied by the quiet of the Konoha evening.

* * *

><p>Sakura collapsed to her knees as she struggled to break Kakashi's fall, her hands finding the wound on his side as she directed the last of her chakra into her medical ninjutsu,<p>

"Shit, Kakashi, what did you do that for? You're almost dead!" He'd leapt in the way of what was sure to have been a fatal strike to the kuniochi and in the process managed to thrust a chidori through the enemy nin's chest – taking advantage of the element of surprise before Sanosuke could transport away. Sakura had dropped both weapons in her hands to as to catch Kakashi before he fell, the shuriken Sanosuke had wielded struck the Copy Nin in the ribs, severely breaking a number of his upper right-hand sided ones.

"It was...your blind spot..." She looked over to his face, his blood streaked hair grim under the weak light of the moon; he gingerly lifted one hand up, dropping it onto the small of her back, his mis-matched gaze hazy, but gentle – his clouded mind just registering his amusement at how irritated she'd be with him later, upon seeing that he'd used his sharingan as best he could to predict Sanosuke's physical movements.

"Don't worry...don't waste your chakra on an old man past his prime,"

"You're not old and I'm not letting you die! Y-you mean too much...to...m-" She could sense his wound beginning to close, but he had lost a lot of blood, she looked back up to him again, their eyes connecting, Sakura half wishing to tear her eyes away, afraid of what she might silently say,

"Wha? What could I possibly mean...to you..? That you'd..." For the first time in a long time, Sakura had no answer. She continued to look at him as her chakra slowly drained making her fuzzy-headed and unable to properly think about his question, highly aware, however, of the fact that a number of potential answers flittered through her mind and the ones which seemed most appropriate, were frightening.

But before she could muster a response, the last of her chakra drained and her eyelids grew too heavy to hold open; she slumped forward across the man she'd been in the process of healing, her consciousness leaving her just as he slid his hand up to rest on her mid back, keeping her close; Kakashi himself barely treading the line of wakefulness as he felt Tsunade's presence approach.


	36. Chapter 36

Thanks to everyone who's taken the time to review! ^-^

As I'm sure most of you have guessed, but this story is finally at a close! T.T I reckon there will be another two or three chapters to go after this one (aiya! I'm so going to miss this story!) But is there anything you particularly want to happen over the next few chapters? (i.e. do you think I broached something earlier in the story which never got the resolution it should have?)

Chapter title: from Adele's current song (sorry I have no idea what the song is called, but it is a great record - its all too rare that songs have atmosphere as her current single does! ^-^)

..

.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Go No Further<strong>_

_Part 36: Bringing Me Out Of The Dark_

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><p><em>Kakashi! <em>Sakura's eyes suddenly flew open as she registered that her last memory had been that of frantically trying to heal the gaping hole over the side of his chest,

"Easy, Sakura," She found the Godaime at her side, wrapping the deep gash on her thigh; Sakura, having had more serious injuries, the Godaime hadn't been able to heal it at the time,

"Where's Kakashi? Is he alright?"

"Yes, he's going to be fine, you did a remarkable job healing him," Sakura sat up slowly as Tsunade leaned back in her chair; her body protested but was still movable, she shifted to swing her legs over the edge of the bed, "Hey! You're in no state to be walking around!" Sakura initially ignored the elder woman's words and found shaky legs, her urge to set eyes on the man unrelenting; she nearly fell, but Tsunade grabbed her arm, "Not going to give up are you? Fine...you might as well not ruin all my hard work in the process," She grumbled, leading Sakura out the door and down the hall,

"How's the village?"

"Fine, it there were a number of others lackeys, but they proved no match for the ANBU and the other two, you, Naruto and Kakashi sorted out... It was lucky there were so few of them,"

"We were complacent, weren't we?"

"Yes," Tsunade's mouth pursed into a grim line as she led Sakura down the hospital corridor and into Kakashi's room, "We were...but we've caught Sanosuke's accomplice and he's been sent for interrogation with Ibiki – Kakashi killed Sanosuke with his Raikiri, I would rather he'd been kept alive, but I'm _more_ glad Kakashi saved _you_. Anyway, Kakashi's fine and just sleeping now," Sakura nodded as she hobbled further over to the bedside, her hands finding his bandaged chest and peeling away the blanket to look at his side – the clean white bandaging moving slightly with his even breathing assuring her, slightly,

"What do you think will happen when word gets out about the attempt?" Her eyes drifted up to look at his face, he looked exhausted and she kept her voice low so as not to wake him...he looked better for a clean up though,

"I'm not sure...but...I think a strong Rokudaime would help. I handing succession over to Naruto,"

"What?" Sakura accidentally half-shouted her response in surprise, but caught herself, flicking her eyes back over to Kakashi's still sleeping form, "Why? Why now are you making him Rokudaime?" Her voice was quieter this time as she hobbled over to a seat against the wall, sighing lightly in relief as she took the weight of her aching leg, opposite the silver-haired nin's bed as Tsunade stood at the foot,

"I'm getting old Sakura...well, I was _getting old_ when I first took you on as my apprentice," Tsunade looked half unimpressed with herself, "But this attack told me that I'm just not cut out for it anymore...I'd always thought I could leave the job safely in Kakashi's hands and he in Naruto's, when the time came, but they'd both kill me if I did that – Kakashi because I'd be lumbering him with the stuffy role of Hokage he'd hate and Naruto because he couldn't stand to be passed over again,"

Both women smiled wryly at the easily predicable reactions of both men over the same role. "And I think Naruto is finally ready for it...he's young, but he'd also seem more than most men who acquire the seat of Kage...he will be a strong leader and reassure any doubts which might grow because of the recent attack. I could feel my strength failing me...of course I could have taken him on, but not like I'd have been able to even four or five years ago...your generation, Sakura, is finally ready to take over...and I'd actually like to be able to _enjoy_ my retirement," Sakura allowed a breath of laughter to escape,

"Well, I can't say that I don't think Naruto's unfit for the job, it just a surprise is all...I'd almost expect him to start going grey before he'd be seriously considered," Tsunade laughed heartily but quickly,

"I'm glad that you've both sorted your differences...Naruto will need you, if he's to become a successful Hokage," Sakura leaned back in her chair and averted her eyes from her former mentor's, her gaze finding its way back to Kakashi – who was no doubt pretending to be asleep at this point – it was only ever a sharingan coma which kept him under deeply enough that he wouldn't be aware of another presence close to him. Was he as surprised as she?

"Tsunade-sama...are you really happy to retire?"

"...Haa...the world needs a strong Hokage – for decades, Fire has been one of the most powerful nations and if any weaknesses is shown then the lesser nations will immediately take advantage. The balance is delicate, so delicate and Naruto's strength will over-shadow any perceived failing in my tenure," Sakura wasn't sure what sort of answer would be appropriate, "Naruto will do a good job...dare I admit it, he's quite mature now, despite that silly grin of his,"

"Heh, that's a scary thought, isn't it?" Sakura rose to her feet, sealing a last glance at Kakashi, who remained motionless, but for the gentle rise and fall of his chest. She turned to head back to her own room,

"When will you hand over succession?" Sakura stepped towards the door and Tsunade fell into line beside her, ready to take her arm in support; as they retraced the steps towards Sakura's room, the pink-haired kuniochi getting progressively more tired with each footfall.

"In a few days, once you and Kakashi have recovered and the excitement's died down a little."

…

Sakura had healed swiftly from her injuries and was quickly ready for release from hospital, Kakashi's injuries had been a little more serious and was supposed to stay for a short while longer – much to his displeasure. He had indeed been awake for Sakura and Tsunade's conversation and as tired as he was, desperate to sleep, he was grateful that the discussion was at least interesting. It was a bold move of Tsunade's to so abruptly hand over succession (although Kakashi was indeed as grateful, as the elder kuniochi had guessed, at not being asked to ascend it) but the shinobi agreed – Fire needed to display only cool, assured strength – any doubt and it would only open the door for more men like Sanosuke, who would likely be trickier opponents to defeat.

As Kakashi lay in his hospital bed, finally rested enough to focus his thoughts, he couldn't help but reply the events of Sanosuke's and Sakura's fight in his mind. She was in control and Sanosuke's emotional calm had been so thoroughly upset in Tsunade's office that he hadn't managed to regain it during the fight, or at least, by the time he had, Sakura had as good as won.

Even if he'd managed to kill her then, there would be nothing further he could do with only one hand and depleted chakra; Kakashi shook his head, trying to erase the mental image of what would have happened if Sanosuke's strike had connected with Sakura – such a damnable thought. He had no qualms about using his sharingan, even though it hurt like hell, his years of gifted insight allowed his greater natural sense and he could both see and guess Sanosuke's finishing move and he leapt forward almost on instinct.

Kakashi sat up and swivelled around to allow his legs over the edge of the bed, his feet resting on the floor as he ran a hand through his hair, - his ribs ached a little, but the pain was bearable – his mind had been clouded with pain then, but he could clearly remember the expression Sakura wore – one which didn't know how to answer his question, one which was almost frightened of it.

It was only after he'd given thought to her response, that he considered what his question really meant – why was the question of what he might mean to her such a dangerous one? He wasn't sure and he was even less sure that if she'd asked the question of him, that he'd be able to muster an honest and accurate answer – what _did_ she mean to him? More than an acquaintance? Yes. More than a student? Definitely. She was his closest friend, without a doubt, but anything more?

That was a frightening thought and he didn't dare himself to follow through on honest consideration, even the prospect of such introspection left him with an uncomfortable knot in his stomach. He pushed himself to his feet and picked up his neatly folded clothes on the adjacent chair and dropped then on his bed, before stripping out of his gown, eager to leave the sterile, empty room which seemed to propagate awkward thoughts.

* * *

><p>"My dear, beloved Sakura! I am indeed so happy to see that you have recovered from your injuries and have defeated your nemesis!"<p>

Gai – bless his heart – had heard of Sakura's fight from a distressed Lee and the pair had met her at the hospital, moments before she was due to leave, Lee too had thoughtfully brought her some flowers.

"Thank you, I was lucky to have survived really,"

"Ah yes! I heard, too, that my eternal rival displayed his most honourable and noble qualities in defending you!"

"Indeed he did," When she next had the opportunity to talk to him, she'd have to thank him for that,

"I heard he was injured in the process – how is he now?"

"I was able to partially heal him almost immediately after and Tsunade finished doing so while in hospital, so I think he'll probably need another day or two of rest and he should be fine," Sakura explained as both shinobi flanked her as they walked down the hallway towards the exit,

"So that will probably mean Kakashi-san will have dismissed himself from hospital this morning, then?" Lee countered, his voice holding only the tiniest shadow of teasing, but it was clear to both nin beside him; Sakura allowed a breath of laughter to escape,

"Yes, that's about right," The pink-haired kuniochi had carefully noted that neither man had made even a hint at Naruto taking over the Hokage's seat which lead Sakura to wonder how many Tsunade had told – did Naruto even know about it yet? They exited the hospital, meandering down the fairly quiet streets for the mid-morning,

"Sakura, will you join Lee and I for dinner tonight? I intend to find Kakashi and have him join us!"

"R-really? Where?"

"Hmm...where would you _like_ to eat, Sakura?"

"Uh..."

"Why don't we go to Yakiniku Q?" Lee suggested, earning sounds of approval from both Sakura and Gai,

"An excellent proposal, Lee! Shall we say for seven o'clock?"

"Sure," Sakura nodded,

"Right! Then I shall be off to enlist Kakashi!" Gai bowed and immediately darted away as Sakura and Lee continued to wander,

"Who was he, the man who attacked you?"

"He was at the circle challenges – I didn't fight him then because of Raiden's injury but he seemed to know a lot about me," Lee was frowning slightly,

"That's worrying..."

"It was, but at any rate, he is dead now and we'll have to wait for the interrogation results of his subordinate...I'll see you a little later, okay, Lee?"

"Sure, I'll see you at Yakiniku!" Sakura leapt away, hoping for a shower and a chance to write up her report of the incident with Sanosuke – although she didn't relish the prospect of another report to write, it _was_ necessary.

Sakura stepped into the restaurant at the appointed time and looked vaguely around, not seeing the familiar forms of those whom she was supposed to meet, and so traced the steps towards an empty booth and took a seat, waiting patiently – after only a few minutes a waitress appeared at the table, and she ordered some warm saké and four cups (she considered that she was being a tad optimistic in ordering another cup for Kakashi, but she thought it better that there was one than not). The saké arrived at the table a minutes before Gai,

"Ah! I'm glad you're here!"

"Konbanwa, Gai, how was your afternoon?"

"Excellent! I managed to convince Kakashi to join us too, he should arrive soon!"

"Ah!" She couldn't quite help but smile in response, Gai hovered by didn't sit,

"I will be back in a few moments, Sakura,"

"Eh? Where are you-" But he swiftly disappeared, _damn,_ she thought, _he must really need a piss_, she couldn't help but smirk lopsidedly as she poured out another cup of saké for herself and into a spare cup for Gai, just as silver-hair slid into the seat opposite her, in time to swipe the freshly poured cup of rice wine,

"Perfectly timed as always, Kakashi," He grinned and took a blinding fast gulp of saké,

"I try my hardest," She playfully rolled her eyes and too sipped from her cup,

"Aah! Kakashi!" Gai returned and took the seat next to said nin, "I am glad you were able to make it!" Sakura handed him a cupful of saké before refilling both Kakashi's and her own as she twisted in her seat slightly, leaning her back more to the wall so that she faced more the centre of the table rather than just Kakashi. Lee turned up a few moments later, looking quite flustered,

"Lee, what's wrong? Has something happened?"

"N-nothing," A strong blush appeared on his cheeks as he averted his eyes down onto the menu beneath his arm; Sakura couldn't resist a small smirk at wondering what might cause (a sometimes surprisingly prudish) Lee to blush. Gai merely poured the younger male a cup of saké and handed it to him,

"Here," Lee tipped the cup back without thinking and he sighed,

"Ahh! That's better! I'm starving, shall we order?" Sakura only just resisted the urge to roll her eyes, if Lee was going to get drunk, the it would be up to Gai to take him home. They swiftly ordered (Gai surreptitiously ordering some aloe vera water for Lee, hoping not to allow him to drink any more alcohol), they relaxed into chatter, Gai proposing that he and Kakashi have an eating contest (and the looser therefore pays for the meal) Kakashi politely declined although Lee offered to take up the mantle – maybe it was better to let him eat off his drunkenness rather than fight it out (as he was prone to doing).

The various strips of meat were laid out and were sizzling away as Gai insisted on a retelling (from Kakashi's then Sakura's perspectives of the fight) the evening was relaxed with a few other shinobi popping up – Kurenai and Anko stopped by to say hello but didn't stay long, Sakura taking the occasional sip of rice wine whilst observing the table, or if there was something of specific interest, the rest of the room.

With Sanosuke finally out of the way, Sakura almost felt a little directionless, the past few months had been almost non-stop from her capture, to the tournament to Sanosuke's threats, there had always been something new to consider on the agenda – what, now, was she supposed to do with herself?

Spar with Kakashi, she supposed and help him with re-training himself not to depend upon the sharingan again as much as he'd helped her in recent months with her space-time jutsu. But somehow, she felt as though things would not be that easy, why did she feel as though things had been changed between them? But in a way which she couldn't fully grasp – that question he'd asked had caught her off guard and she had a nasty feeling that she wouldn't be able to skirt her lack of an answer for too long; she sighed lightly as she pulled the last few strips of beef off the griddle and onto her plate, dipping them in sauce before chewing thoughtfully, unaware of Kakashi's eyes on her;

"Something on your mind?" His voice was fairly low, not attracting the attention of Gai and Lee who were having a strange, hushed discussion of their own,

"Hmm? I was just thinking that after everything that's happened over the past few months – from _that_ mission in Mist...hell, even right back to when we started training together again over a year ago, things have seemed so non-stop and even from when Naruto returned, many have been things I was anticipating – like the tournaments and Sanosuke, but now everything seems to have ended or been resolved and I feel almost at a loss with myself," She found his gaze, her eye previously on the suspension of liquid in her cup, which was half-full; Kakashi appeared to be smiling,

"I know what you mean...the..." He paused to flick his eye over to a seemingly-engrossed Lee and Gai to check they weren't listening, "..._upcoming_ events will be much more long-reaching but my calendar does seem unusually bare," Sakura couldn't stop herself from smirking lightly.

"I didn't think you used a calendar anyway," But his comment stuck – would the next upcoming happenings in her life be just as...far-reaching or long term? That thought was almost disquieting,

"Hmm, only for the important things," She grinned again and picked up the saké bottle, pouring him out some first before her own cup, "But, maybe we should take the opportunity for a rest, things have been very intense over the last few months," She offered a return smile, it was a fairly diminutive one, not broad or flashy but sweet and honest all the same; she and Kakashi's eyes remained locked as they each took a sip, Sakura hoping that the blush she could feel creeping up, _damn, did he have to stare so intensely?_ She hastily averted her eyes.

Soon, they decided to call it a night and they all meandered towards their apartments, Lee (thankfully having sobered up significantly) was in the process of supporting a fairly inebriated Gai homewards and Kakashi fell into step beside Sakura and showed no signs of leaving even after they passed by the road which he lived on,

"What are your thoughts on what Tsunade-sama was saying the other day?" He began quietly as they passed out of earshot of a civilian,

"I was surprised at first, but having had time to think about it, I think her decision is right,"

"Hmm...it sure will be weird, I don't remember the last time I had a superior so much younger than me,"

"Heh heh, yea, I wonder who's going to keep him in check?"

"I think Tsunade-sama means you for that job,"

"What! Ugh...that would be just like Tsunade," Kakashi laughed,

"Well, as long as you don't dote on him or let him get away with shirking things, I doubt you'll get lumbered with too much,"

"Hmm, I'll live in fear," They continued wandering, the night air warm and the breeze gentle while the streets were mercifully empty and a silence lapsed between them although Sakura was fairly well used to it. The pink-haired kuniochi began to feel comfortably tired from the large meal and a few cups of saké, she yawned widely, looking forward to getting a good night sleep in her comfortable, familiar bed;

"You need an early night, Sakura-chan," She rolled her eyes, muttering 'ah, save it,' under her breath, "Especially if you feel like training tomorrow," She turned her head to meet his eye,

"Sure, though I'm not sure I'll be up to something intense, and you certainly won't be," Here, Kakashi grumbled something suspiciously like 'still so little faith in me' but she continued, "You left hospital a little early and I wouldn't be surprised if the skin over your ribs is still black from bruising under your clothes!" She could, possibly have thought a little more carefully over her choice of language but Kakashi she her a look,

"...Fine, just some basic taijutsu?"

"Yea, that sounds like a good way to spend a few hours..." She offered a cheerful grin, which Kakashi eyed carefully, "Shall we meet at the usual place for about nine?" He nodded as they came to a halt in front of her apartment, she turning around slightly to face him, her smile toned down a little but remaining,

"I'll see you tomorrow, sleep well, Sakura...I'm glad...that you were not too badly injured," She nodded lightly,

"I'm fine, thanks to you, I wouldn't be...if you hadn't jumped in when you did..." She met his eye again, which was dark with something unnameable,

"Sakura...you have nothing to thank me for, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, even if I knew it would claim my life," She shook her head twice, slowly, a silent attempt to negate some part of his words, he raised a tentative hand, which paused, as though unsure, more than once on its journey before finally coming to rest upon her shoulder, "Get some sleep, Sakura, I'll see you tomorrow," She opened her mouth to speak but he pulled away and turned his back before she could speak, raising a hand in his typically casual backward wave.

She watched him leave for a moment her intuition telling her there was more to his words than what he spoke, but she couldn't decipher what it was.

As she climbed into bed, Sakura wondered what it would be like to watch him join her, dressed only in a pair of boxers, to slide a broad palm over the skin on her waist – his fingertips just rough enough to spread enticing tingles through her body – as he'd draw himself close. She could likewise imagine smoothing her own hands up and over his back pulling him a little closer, to feel his breath fan over her decolletage as he leant over to press his lips to the base of her neck-_stop it! Don't be such an idiot!_ She scolded herself, already feeling flashes of arousal bolt through her; tugging the covers a little closer, she tried to force her mind to retire to sleep.

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><p>He crouched again, just after he'd leapt away to avoid her last attack, his stance making him appear as a coiled spring; they both darted forward, exchanging kicks and punches, and dodging as many as they blocked, an intricate dance forming. As Sakura blocked a kick, she returned it with a punch of her own, which was deflected by his hand gripping her wrist and spinning her backwards into him, his arm snapping around her in an effort to restrain the spirited kuniochi, but she was too swift and he was forced to relinquish his grip on her right wrist to defend against an elbow strike.<p>

She twisted slightly, jerking the side of her hip into his to keep her body at an awkward angle against him, not easy for him to get a grip on her and she drove her now unhindered fist into his solar plexus – he was too skilled not to tense so as to make her strike ineffective, but his still sore ribs protested and he halted, trying to get over the blinding, stabbing pain.

Sakura took advantage, and kicked a leg out from beneath him, knocking him backwards to the floor, she didn't mean to, but his still tight grip grip on her meant she landed on top of him, causing him to grit his teeth in pain as she further jostled his sensitive injury. She leant back, one knee to the ground and the other foot resting the far side of his hips as she leant over him,

"This is familiar, ne?" He frowned,

"Ai, I'm injured this time – and old, remember?" Sakura rolled her eyes and slowly moved to get off him,

"Of course...and here, I thought I shouldn't do the legendary ninja Hatake Kakashi the great disservice by going easy on him," She looked playfully unimpressed as his frown only deepened; he tried to sit up but half-halted mid-way through the action and leaned further forward than he would normally, "Let me take a look," She moved her hands to unzip his flak jacket but he waved her off,

"Don't bother, they're just a bit sore – aggravated by the spar," She gave in, not in the mood for another battle and leaned back down to rest on her elbows as their gazes locked again,

"Why didn't you use your Ichinji-tekina sakkaku no jutsu against Sanosuke when you fought him?"

"I guess I thought that that would be what he'd most anticipate and he would have focussed his efforts on countering me there, so I thought it wise to use when he wouldn't be expecting it," Kakashi smiled, his

"Well, he was off guard for most of the fight – I was _almost_ impressed by how in control you were," She sighed lightly,

"Yea, yea," She sat up herself, aware of how close they were, her shoulder almost brushing his as he sat up a little straighter, she could see him still looking at her in his peripheral vision and turned her head. She felt unable to tear her gaze away, even though she wanted to, her eyes seemed irresistibly drawn to his as she could see the focus of his gaze shift from her eyes down to her mouth he seemed to shift a little.

Kakashi moved minutely forward as she felt unable to resist darting her tongue to moisten dry lips as he watched it carefully, his head dipping in the subtlest of movements, but before anything further could happen they both felt another shinobi approach and Akihiko landed some feet behind them. Kakashi was quick to turn his head away, his causal slouch reappearing,

"Kakashi-san! Sakura-taichou! Tsunade-sama urgently requests your presence," Sakura nodded, after a moment,

"H-hai, hai, we'll be right there, Akihiko," The younger nin nodded as Sakura swiftly found her feet and stepped away, realising that her heart was pounding; Kakashi too found his feet and they both darted away – both equally torn over the matter: both glad and frustrated at having been interrupted...but interrupted from what _precisely_?

The meeting, unsurprisingly, turned out to be Tsunade officially announcing that she was resigning her seat as Hokage and that she was handing it over to Naruto; all of the Jounin and ANBU (not absent on missions) were present as were the councilors and everybody bar Kakashi and Sakura looked thoroughly shocked to say the least and it took Tsunade almost a full minute to calm everyone down from the barrage of chatter.

Most of Sakura and Naruto's generation looking partially convinced – undoubtedly trusting Naruto, but unsure if he was truly fit for the job – after the official announcement had been made, the longest time was spent of those who knew Naruto personally, on congratulating him. He was surprisingly gracious and acted so maturely, Sakura was almost fooled into thinking that it wasn't really the blonde at all – Sakura remained more out of obligation, she didn't like being squished in a crowd and her earlier confusion over the Copy Nin put her only in the mood to find herself alone to think about what was going on, but she needed to show only good faith to her long-term friend.

She remained, however, and briefly hugged Naruto in congratulations, which he returned and only after some half an hour of pleasantries, did Sakura think it acceptable to slip out (Naruto was busy, by then, anyway with trying to understand all of the bureaucracy which came with the role and Tsunade briefing him on issues he'd have to deal with right away) she'd seen Kakashi still in the meeting room as she left, her eyes had subconsciously looked for him throughout the assembly which she tired to prevent, but couldn't quite manage.

She wandered slowly (once sufficiently far away enough from anyone else to spot her) and her mind immediately fell back to Kakashi, was he going to kiss her, earlier? It certainly seemed like it, but _Kakashi_ going to kiss _her?_ The thought seemed ludicrous, certainly, but things had changed – for the longest time and she couldn't deny how attracted to him she felt.

Especially after the business at the tournament, when she, on more than one occasion, could feel the sexual tension flare and threaten; those times however, something also interrupted them and by the time they next interacted, either something else demanded their immediate attention, or the situation had diffused and she'd forgotten what had happened last between them.

Would it be like that again, when she next set eyes on Kakashi? Would he merely chalk it up to a fit of madness and not try something again? She wanted to think that, and think that it was merely a caught-in-the-moment thing...but it didn't sit right, in all the long years they'd known each other, she'd never seen him to be careless – he was a deliberate man and all of his actions were for one purpose or another – if Hatake Kakashi had tried to kiss her, then he must genuinely have _wanted_ to do so.

That thought was a thrilling as it was nerve-wracking. Was she getting ahead of herself? She wasn't sure what she could really offer him – they were good friends and she could make him laugh, she knew this, but they also had their disagreements and if, _if_ for some reason, Kakashi wanted some sort of romantic relationship with her, why would he?

Surely there were other women who could happily offer the physical side with less strings or difficulties - and on the emotional side, well, wouldn't he rather have someone he could have distance from when needed? Their lives had already become incredibly intertwined with each others, surely having so little freedom from her would trouble a private man like Kakashi? It slightly troubled Sakura – or rather, it troubled her _less_ than anticipated, the thought of being close to him, she enjoyed his company whatever they were doing, if sparring, relaxing or just having a drink, she'd yet to tire of his company...but he couldn't feel that way, too, could he..?

She felt fairly sure, as well, that he wasn't just after one night then expect things to be fine, he was not so irresponsible or immature as to think he could take what he wanted without consequences. Sakura was beginning to confuse herself – honestly, she couldn't deny that she found him attractive and thought him a compatible personality...someone, if he stated his intentions honestly, she might find hard to resist – and the honest acknowledgement of such realisations seemed to have her stomach clenching.

All her previous encounters with romance had been nasty experiences – Sasuke was the first and she'd spent so much time regretting herself and her actions that she could no longer bare to even think about him. Later, when she'd actually found herself in a relationship with someone (he one of the normal Jounins, it was just before she'd joined ANBU) – she wasn't looking for something truly serious but she took it seriously nonetheless, they were together for the best part of a year but the relationship as a whole was deeply unfulfilling – he was arrogant and cold (much like Sasuke) and held her to a double standard, slowly poisoning her against herself – she spent so much time feeling like his pet or a possession that she almost forgot what it was like to live for herself.

Ashamed, she final found the strength to get rid of him and took it as a clear sign that she was better off _alone_ – so steeled herself and joined ANBU, sure to find the order and namelessness she so craved after failing herself so badly. She didn't doubt Kakashi, and knew that he would not treat her so poorly, but that was the only real experience she'd had of relationships and feared that she would subconsciously _act_ as though she was a possession and hence encourage him to treat her as such.

She didn't want to, but the subconscious was a powerful force, habits and the fallacies in which people live, are often near indestructible (especially if unacknowledged or challenged) – she feared a nasty fallout from a relationship with Kakashi but she feared, even more, her own subconscious sabotage as a manifestation of those fears (as ironic as the situation would be).

She wanted Kakashi, _Kami_ she wanted him - that much was true...and how long, now, had it been since she'd broken up with that guy? Four years? Had she not moved forward? Had she not earned the personal respect of Kakashi, despite their disagreements? Kakashi respected her on every level of their current relationship – why would she think it would change after a simple step forward in their boundaries?

She'd said it herself, too, that Kakashi was one of the most mature men she'd ever had the pleasure of knowing and surely a secure and adult man as he would not need to tread her into the dirt in an effort to validate himself, as so many other men likely to do, would he? She was irrationally worrying now, unsure of what her own feelings would mean and of his; she slapped her palm to her forehead in an effort to clear them away, (her own self-assurance returning too, feeling more sure that most of her worries were unfounded);

"Oi, a medic should know better..." Sakura froze in mid-step, pulling her hand away from her face to see Kakashi stood leaning against one of upright wooden posts of training ground three, where her feet must have led her. He looked fairly relaxed with his arms folded over his chest and his eye clearly fixed upon her,

"How long have you been there?" She did her best to fight the blush which wanted to creep up as she wondered if he might somehow know the topic of her thoughts just by looking,

"A while, you looked deep in thought," He appeared quite amused, she sighed lightly, stepping forward again, intending to walk past – somehow not ready to deal with him yet, almost embarrassed to do so, but definitely wanting to appear casual. She walked right up to him and just about to pass by as she felt his hand close around her wrist, halting her steps, she turned slightly, coming face-to-face with him,

"K-Kakashi?" He didn't say anything as his grip remained firm and he minutely pulled her further towards him, but the movement was so subtle, she almost didn't pick up on it,

"...Sakura, earlier..." She could hear his deep breaths loudly for the proximity and that he held her entire attention, their eyes met again and he paused, as though waiting for either affirmation or rejection, "I...I'd hoped that..." He seemed to falter again and pushed himself a little closer but Kami had a sick sense of humour and he suddenly darted back a foot or so as yet _another_ messenger-nin appeared out of the trees behind them,

"Haruno-san! You are urgently needed at the hospital, Sakayana Raiden-san has finally awoken," Sakura pulled back in surprise, her consciousness of the silver-haired shinobi forced her to look back over to him to find his eye still trained upon her, his expression difficult to read, but his breathing fairly harsh. She quickly tore her eyes from him in preparation to dash away to the hospital; fearful, almost, of allowing Kakashi to see just how disappointed she was that they had again been interrupted.

..

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><p>An - ah, you might be annoyed with me for the two almost-there, but they were important in their own ways, as you saw, Saku did seem to need a little nudge in the right direction, ne? XD


	37. Chapter 37

Title: Billy Joel: _We Didn't Start The Fire – _incredible song! ^-^

Also if I couldn't reply to your review last, its because of some stupid error, where fanfiction for some reason couldn't find the review I'd just clicked on, to reply -.-' so apologies for that but know I'm exceedingly grateful for your reviews nonetheless!

Also: This isn't quite the last chapter, but I'm thinking of making the next one the last as a sort of epilogue! Sorry for the wait on this one too, beginning to loose interest in favour of the next one shot I'm planning on – a Kakashi one, by the way, tho there are a few last minute things I was having trouble with or it would have been posted sooner (see my poll, which has had only one vote – _**not**_ helpful!)

Please vote in it as I can't decide where to take the one shot in terms of should it contain any romance or not? It focusses mostly on Kakashi and his memories of his father / his childhood, but I can't decide on just a Kaka X the past; a Kaka X OC, or a Kaka X Saku – what do you guys think? Please vote in the poll (please see profile page!), as I genuinely am having trouble in deciding! Cheers! ^-^ (I also have a Darker Than Black one shot I'm planning on and is half-written, but I still love the next Naruto one-shot I got the idea for about a month ago so it'll be that one (I'm aiming for) to be posted first!)

I have already written a little of this fic and I' anxious to begin writing it proper, so please be swift with your voting (i.e. before I publish the next chapter of GNF) or I'll be going with the majority of votes or (if no one votes) then what I can most naturally fit into the fic (although it'll negate the point of the poll -.-') anyway - for a new midly angsty Kakashi fic, what do you most _want_ to read about? PLEASE vote, people! Thanks!

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><p><em><strong>Go No Further<strong>_

_Part 37: No We Didn't Ignite It But We Tried To Fight It, We Didn't Start the Fire_

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><p>Kakashi ran a hand through his hair as Sakura and the other nin leapt out of sight, he was frustrated and wondered who he'd pissed off with enough power to get in his way at every step; he took himself off towards his garden, even though his mind lingered on the kuniochi. He hadn't slept too well the night before as he'd felt strangely awkward to say goodnight to her so early – he would happily have sat down with a pot of tea to continue chatting with her or just to have her by his side.<p>

He hadn't felt so empty returning to his dark apartment for many years and he was tempted to head immediately back over to her place and drop in for tea on some silly pretext but it wouldn't take much for her to see through his false pretence and the fear of rejection gnawed at him. It slowly dawned on him, through the previous night, just how badly he wanted her and wished she was with him, his apartment seeming lonely instead of quiet and empty rather than a haven for him – he wasn't used to such restlessness and even giving in and allowing his mind to run rampant over thoughts of her didn't help much.

Even though some of his thoughts were sexual in nature, that was not their sole aspect – he wanted her entirely and wanted her to _want to be with him_; sex alone was easy to resolve, if not occasionally awkward, but he guessed that that was not all there was to it – and even if it were possible for one night and no consequences, he knew it would not be enough to satisfy him. There was some part of Kakashi which craved her attention and wanted an entire aspect of her to be his alone, he wanted that aspect to be for him to understand, through which he could bring her pleasure or happiness.

The feeling was alien to him, but a large part of his desire for Sakura was through the urge to know what he could _give to_ her, rather than what he could _take from_ her and that realisation was daunting but somehow exciting. He had given thought to what might happen if they were together for a little while but found themselves incompatible and although the ideas were quite depressing, he was certain enough of his own feelings that he wouldn't fecklessly decide against allowing her in immediately after he'd done so.

No, he was certain, at least, of the uncontrollable aspects of herself, he found her attractive: physically, personally and in her manner, her smell tantalised him and her intelligence and sense agreed just as much. Although he couldn't be sure if she returned his desire, he was sure that she could see the potential – the times in which they'd been pushed closer than otherwise they would have, he knew that she had been affected, just as he had. She resisted it, but she hadn't been unswayed and that was enough to tell Kakashi that he was not frozen in one role in her mind and that was enough for now – he could no longer resist his urge to test the water, so to speak.

When he found himself sat beside her after their spar, it had seemed so natural for them to share a kiss, but as he caught her eye he hesitated, easily able to see the uncertainty in her; the worst he could do would be to push too hard and steel her against him. Hence, when he came across her after the meeting he tried to find the appropriate words to explain but he could also see how she seemed less cautious about him more...curious almost, tentatively so – and it reassured him to no end – but then, of course, Raiden got in the way.

_No, that's not fair_, he shook his head, he was pleased the boy had awoken – and in good health he could only hope – it would cheer Sakura up immensely to know her team-mate had recovered. Kakashi looked carefully around his garden, beginning bloom in the spring sun, he thought back to over a year ago when he'd caught Sakura meditating here – of anybody who'd trespassed here, in a sense, he was almost grateful that it happened to be one who valued the beauty of the garden, if he had not seen her present, he would not have known she'd visited.

To think that such a minor thing could have changed his life so drastically, to think that here he was, so eager to make her his, from her presence here, she then became – albeit slowly – the most important factor in his life.

Kakashi shook his head slightly, and tugged a kunai out of his pocket, if Raiden had truly awoken, then she'd be a few hours at the least and there was no way Kakashi could possibly sit still and focus on reading with things they way they were with the kuniochi and a simple activity – such as deadheading – was ideal. He couldn't wait for later, where he hoped she'd be at her apartment and they'd have time (_uninterrupted time_) to talk and sort through whatever feelings may be there (or could otherwise be cultivated). He felt much more assured that he would get a favourable response from the kuniochi – he just had to hope that third time was the charm.

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><p>Her gait was fairly slow but Kakashi couldn't quite tell if it was due to fatigue or happiness that she wasn't at her usual brisk pace, it was already getting dark, yet there was still significant hustle and bustle from the earlier news of Tsunade's resignation (and he'd heard about a get togetherstreet party affair for most of the Jounin and Naruto's contemporaries (as well as anyone else who felt like attending, he guessed) one the main street later and was still erring as to whether he'd attend (it would depend almost entirely on what happened with Sakura in a few minutes)).

He was currently tracking her on her way home, he'd run out of things to occupy him and staked out the hospital with an _Icha Icha_ (it was present mostly for show, he couldn't possibly concentrate on it, not with the provocative images it was sure to conjure with a woman he desperately wanted to try such things with, but didn't want raise his hopes to be potentially dashed).

Still, Sakura turned the final corner onto a street and Kakashi hopped across the adjacent rooftops, being sure to keep his presence hidden as he stalked his prey, the main door to her apartment block snapped shut behind her and Kakashi prepared to make his move, the knot of anxiety in his stomach not giving him a moments respite. He waited for almost a minute before he climbed in through a hallway window and rapped on her door;

"Kakashi?"

"Do you have a few minutes?"

"Yea," She stood aside to let him walk in which he did, swiftly toeing off his sandals, "Would you like some tea? The kettle's almost boiled,"

"Please," Where was he supposed to start? He sat himself down on her folded futon and watched for the moment as she decanted the boiling water into the small teapot,

"Is green tea okay?"

"Sure," She lifted the tray from the counter and walked over to him, setting it down on the kotatsu before taking a seat next to him and yawning, "How's Raiden?"

"Good, actually, he was up and talking fairly well, there was some mild aphasia, but Tsunade-sama and I both reckon that will clear up fairly quickly now that he's conscious again," She shifted slightly, turning to angle herself so that she was partially facing him, "There seems to have been no permanent damage, only the temporary effects of having been unconscious and immobile for so long, although it will be quite some time until his motor function returns to anything like it used to be..."

"I'm glad to hear he's recovered, mostly...you did a remarkable job healing him back then, Sakura," She caught his eye for a moment, a look in hers curious, in a guarded sense,

"Yes, it was very lucky I was so close and was actually able to do something...there was such a high chance he would either die, never awake from his coma or have most of his higher brain function destroyed..." She closed her eyes in momentary anguish,

"Sakura," He inched slightly closer, "If there was any blame to go around for what happened to Raiden, you've already dished out the punishment for it – Sanosuke has been killed and any further information is being gathered through Senri's interrogation,"

"I know," She offered a small smile as their eyes met again, Kakashi resisting the urge to rub his hand over her back,

"...Are you going to Naruto's get-together thing later?"

"I hadn't decided, yet, I was going to wait for..." She looked awkward as her eyes skittered over the room, as though restlessly searching for something, "...I..." She sighed and shifted around to face him more, her eyes not quite meeting his, "Was going to wait and see if...err...anything happened with...you," She was gnawing nervously on her bottom lip as she eventually reached his eye, which widened slightly in surprise, he hadn't seen that coming – why hadn't he seen that coming? "What...I..." She paused, searching for the right words as she looked back down to the gently steaming pot of tea, still as yet un-poured,

"...I'm not sure when it changed, Sakura, or at least, I remember clearly when I learned to stop looking at you as my student and instead my friend and equal but not when that stopped explaining it all...yes there've been a few times where we were pushed closer than ordinarily I would have been comfortable with, but that never really bothered me quite as much as it should have done," She slowly turned her head back to meet his gaze, "And, if I'm honest, I've never had any trouble in admitting to myself that I find you attractive, but its taken me a lot longer to admit to myself that I want more from you, that I don't like the remaining distance that there is between us,"

She looked a touch wary, but it was a sort of anticipatory hesitancy, he continued: "I don't know quite where this is going to go, I wish I could guarantee things, but to be honest, the only thing I can be sure of is that I want you, Sakura. I want to know what an intimate relationship would be like with you and just the same, keeping my distance as a friend just doesn't feel right any more...I can't _just_ be your friend any more," He shifted himself ever closer, finally unable to resist touching her as he slid his hand over her back, neither too high nor too low; Sakura took a slow breath in and out, nibbling lightly on her lip again,

"I...I feel the same way...I do want to know what it would be like to, uh, _take that step_ with you...but I..._fear_ it also, I'm scared of all the potential problems and what might happen because of the minefield that romantic relationships are…and I'm sick of losing those dear to me because of _stupid_ arguments." She sighed again, her inner turmoil evident, Kakashi closed his eyes momentarily in a slow blink, completely understanding her words – the very same arguments that had kept him awake on nights prior; he shifted his hand to pull her closer to him, leaning her against his chest,

"I know…but I can no longer ignore how I feel – or lie for the sake of ease – you are my closest friend, Sakura, but I don't want that – I couldn't handle it, not if I can be closer," His voice was at its typical non-threatening timbre, and he rubbed his hand over her upper arm comfortingly,

"I have to agree with you, though, I think this is the natural progression and I doubt I could go back to just a friend with you after this...though I can't say I've had good experiences with relationships in the past and I don't know what to expect..." He pulled away from her slightly, but kept his hand on her, unable to resist smiling,

"There's no rush and, to be honest, I don't even remember the last time I was in a relationship – if ever – and certainly nothing like as eager as I am for this to begin; but the only thing I want from you is just to be Sakura...you've no idea how contented you make me just to have you by my side...well, when we're doing something fairly innocuous, at least," She allowed a quiet snort of amusement to escape her as he took one of her hands in his, pulling it up to the side of his face, "Pull down my mask," She looked a little quizzical,

"Are...you sure?" He growled lightly,

"I might be a little more hesitant had I not already been denied twice before," She allowed a breath of laughter to escape and a smile found its way onto her face which was somehow sweet and sexy at the same time; he felt her fingertips curl over the hem and slowly drag the simple cloth mask down over his nose and past his chin.

She vaguely acknowledged that her confident assumption of him as an attractive man was well justified, but she leaned in and pressed her own lips to his before she could think any further, in seconds he'd coiled his arms around her and returned the kiss with a hungry passion she'd rarely seen in him; she looped an arm around his shoulders as her other threaded into his thick silver hair. She bit down impossibly gently onto his lower lip, which was returned with a low growl and his tongue snaking between her lips, tackling her own as he tugged her closer still his arms folding tightly around her back, pulling her into his lap so that her legs straddled his hips.

Their tongues knotted and Sakura was amazed at how pleasurable she found kissing Kakashi to be, she just couldn't seem to get enough of him, but eventually they parted, panting slightly for want of air as Sakura met his eyes. The pink-haired kuniochi was surprised by how intensely he was focussed on her, but as quickly as she noticed it, the moment passed, though, and he seemed to relax slightly as a small, but handsome smile settled on his face; her heart skipped slightly at it, but he pressed his lips again to hers in a considerably more chaste – although by no means less pleasurable – kiss.

"Okay, I'm a bit less worried about this, now," Kakashi immediately laughed, it was rich and hearty – and a sound she'd never actually heard him make before – as he threw his head back slightly,

"If I'd known that a kiss was all it took to ease your worries, then I would have done it months ago," He squeezed her tight to him as he said this, allowing his chin to hook over her shoulder, still lightly chuckling; she couldn't help but roll her eyes slightly, even though the only emotions she could feel were contentment well mixed with excitement for what the coming days and weeks (and possibly..?) would bring, for Kakashi to make her feel so with just a kiss as she gently rested the side of her head onto his, relished feeling so much of him pressed against her at once.

"I suppose we have to put in an appearance at Naruto's congratulations party," She sighed lightly, at his words;

"Yea, I guess we should," She slumped a little more heavily into him, successfully telegraphing her laziness at the prospect, as Kakashi fitted his lips to her neck, sending small shivers of pleasure through her at his focus on the sensitive skin; but before either could say anything more, a sharp knocking on the door drew their attentions,

"Forehead, you'd better be in there!" Sakura sighed heavily and leaned back out of Kakashi's grasp, ready to stand up, as the pink-haired kuniochi immediately recognised the voice of her blonde-haired, long-term friend;

"Can't give us a moment, can they?" He smiled again,

"Well, at least we're further along than before..." She offered a wry smile,

"Aah, that _is_ true," She stood right up, pulling free of Kakashi's grasp as said shinobi tugged his mask back up and over his nose; his eye not averting from her as he sat back on the sofa, doing his best to look casual,

"Forehead!" A vein pop appeared on said part of Sakura as she marched over to the door and tugged it open,

"What is it, Ino?"

"Naruto's wondering where the hell you are! The party's been on for an hour already, hurry up! And have you seen Kakashi? Naruto was asking after him too," Sakura sighed as she looked over her shoulder to Kakashi who was rising to his feet, Ino looking past her to set eyes on him, a sly smirk appeared on her face. "A party of your own?"

"Stupid, he and I had some things to discuss earlier, but were interrupted because Raiden's awoken,"

"Oh! Really? How is he?" Kakashi joined her at the door as they both slipped their sandals on, neither feeling that they could realistically get out of having Ino to leave without them without basically advertising what had just happened between them to the entirety of Konoha – even thought the chances of escaping that fate were already slim to none. Still, Sakura felt it just about bearable for the progress she and Kakashi had made this evening, and was infinitely more reassured of their status.

As they walked down the side street to Konoha's main, central one, Sakura explained in fair detail about Raiden's condition (and hoped that it would successfully distract the blonde from thinking about how she'd found herself and Kakashi in the same apartment instead of where they were supposed to be).

"Kakashi! There you are!" A shout from Genma attracted the silver-haired shinobi's attention as soon as they out and onto the busy street – many of the shop owners had set up stalls; said silver-haired man he peeled off to headed over to the small marquee from where he'd been summoned, as Naruto waved Sakura over,

"There you are! What took you so long?"

"Sorry Naruto, my team mate awoke from his coma not too long ago, so..." She hovered next to the group all stood around the small stall Teuchi had set up, her eye immediately drifting away to the familiar form of Kakashi, before it darted back to the man in front of her,

"Oh yea! Tsunade-baa-chan told me about that! He's okay, right?"

"Yea, he should make a full recovery in a few weeks...I'm just going to get a drink, do you want one?"

"Nah, I'm fine thanks, Sakura-chan," She nodded and slipped through the crowd not taking long to find a small stall selling alcohol, she took a moment to allow her eyes to scan the selection, impressed they were selling beer rather than saké alone; she ordered an asahi and turned to allow her eyes to scan the busy streets. It looked more like a festival than a celebration of a new Hokage and Sakura was faintly impressed that the civilians had managed to organise something this large so quickly; admittedly she wasn't quite in the mood for a crowd tonight, but – as her eyes caught a familiar mop of silver-hair – she couldn't keep herself from smiling, showing how happy she felt.

As she subconsciously licked her dry lips, she could still taste him clearly on them and damn, it was _distracting._

…

"Do you know how to play?" Kakashi's smooth voice resounded from just behind her left ear,

"What?" Her mind immediately fell, inappropriately, into the gutter with his words as she turned to face him, finding the man grinning at her whilst he gestured to the deck of cards in front of her,

"Hanafuda Koi-Koi, do you know how to play? Its a fun game," _Oh yea,_ she'd been looking at the exquisite decks of hand-made cards for sale on one of the vendor's stalls;

"Uh...I think I vaguely remember the rules," He reached his hand over and picked up the deck Sakura had been admiring,

"How much for this?" He asked the vendor,

"100 Ryous," Kakashi dropped a few notes to the table and gestured for Sakura to follow him, which she did, weaving through the crowd until they came to a small area set out for sitting, with a number of tables and stools set out,

"I'll get us another drink, what would you like?" Sakura spoke as they passed another alcohol vendor,

"A warm saké, please," She nodded and veered off as Kakashi took a secluded table and began to shuffle the cards; Sakura joined him a few moments later with the two drinks in hand and took the seat opposite him, pushing the bottle of saké and cup towards him over the small wooden tabletop as he began to deal them eight cards each and eight, face-up on the table, setting the rest aside as the draw-pile. Sakura took a swig of her beer,

"How's your evening been?" He looked up, meeting her eyes,

"Not bad, although I would have been happy with a night in, to be honest," Sakura barely managed to prevent her smile from breaking out into a full-on grin,

"Yea, I know what you mean...although I must say, I'm impressed at how quickly the village organised this...a testament to their faith in him, I suppose," She picked up her cards seeing that she had a good mix of one animal card, two ribbon cards (both different to each other), three bright cards, one peony card and one month card.

"I'll go first and tell you what to do...Kakashi rearranged the cards in his hands for a few moments as he looked down to the eight spread out face up between them,

"Hmm, I have a bright card which matches one face up there," He took said card from his hand and laid it on top of the one on the table, so as to 'capture' it and reclaimed both to him, he then turned one card over from the un-drawn pile and laid it down on the table, "Ah, another Akatan [red poetry ribbon card]," He placed the matching cards together and gathered them both up as Sakura watched with carefully schooled amusement,

"Funny, I never pictured you as a card-sharp, Kakashi," He looked up, his grin obvious,

"Well, I seem to remember telling you, at one point, that I have many hobbies," She allowed herself to look faintly unimpressed for a moment as he poured himself out a cupful of rice wine, "As I didn't get a yaku [a matching set of cards needed to win the round] its your turn – see if any of your cards match and then turn over the next top card on the pile,"

He gestured as he spoke and Sakura laid her red ribbon card onto another so as to capture it. She then flipped over the next card on the top pile and found it to been a picture of a deer (the Shika animal card), she matched it to the Chou animal card of butterflies – she found herself wryly wondering if she might get an Ino-Shika-Chou yaku) the kuniochi was unable to prevent her eyes from darting up to look at him every now and then as she took a swig from her asahi bottle;

"Do you play any other card games, Kakashi?"

"I used to...for many of Gai's challenges, when we were teens, I took to suggesting matches of Koi-Koi and others as a way to, hopefully, bore him out of challenging me any more by playing something so seemingly demure and unexciting as a card game," Kakashi quickly played his turn discarding a card and picking up another two, "The joke, it turned out, was on me...I didn't realise it at the time, but Gai was as good at playing cards – _any_ game of cards – as he was with taijutsu and I'd never been thrashed so thoroughly at that first game – and I thought I was pretty good at Go-Stop which we were playing at the time. Its a Korean game, I think, and I thought its obscurity might help but me, but not when it comes to Gai!"

As Kakashi made his way thought his tale, Sakura could feel the urge to burst into riotous laughter rise up and thought she'd managed to hold it in, but as she heard Kakashi's tone of voice and slightly head-shake of disbelief at Gai's (seemingly very) random skill with cards, she could no longer contain the urge and she threw her head back to allow the peals of laugher to escape her: the mental image too hilarious to be contained.

Who'd have though that the flamboyant Green Beast would be so skilled at a game which would, to the casual observer, seem to go against his very nature – it being quiet, tactical and fairly thoughtful and the man himself being boisterous, apparently unable to sit still for too long and on occasion, quite forgetful? Kakashi tried, unsuccessfully, to reign in his own grin at Sakura's amusement, as he took a sip of rice wine while the kuniochi tried to regain her composure, shaking her head slightly,

"Its amazing what a surprise Gai can be at times," She took another swig of asahi and Kakashi nodded, quickly taking his turn and managed to form a yaku,

"Indeed he can be... Aah! I have a yaku...but I think we'll keep on playing, 'koi koi!'" He set his yaku aside and Sakura took her turn secretly calculating her moves, determined not to let him win. "Why did you find the thought of Gai being good at cards so hilarious?" She flipped over a card from the draw pile and found the boar (Ino) and was pleased to see that there was another clover card on the table and she immediately matched them, forming the Ino-Shika-Chou yaku and called the hand, claiming the points Kakashi missed out on.

"Hmm," Kakashi eyed her and the yaku carefully, faux suspicion radiating off of him, "I hope you're not a dirty player, Sakura," Only if he'd said something directly sexual, could it have been more difficult for her to keep her mind out of the gutter – which was probably his intention. She couldn't help the small smirk which twitched at her lips,

"I'm sure you know how it is, Kakashi, sometimes you've got to go with what works," He raised an eyebrow,

"There are still ground rules, Sakura-chan, don't tell me you don't know that," She slowly matched one of her bright cards to the rain-man card and turned over the next on the pile, unfortunately, it wasn't one which matched by any other on the table and she left it behind (it was immediately snatched up by Kakashi).

"Of course, but I've always taken the 'ground rules' to be fluid ideas, reading the situation is more important and then the basic principles need to be applied in accordance with them, wouldn't you agree?"

"Hmm, what would be the point of ground rules if they're so fluid, they change with the situation? They wouldn't really be rules then would they? And they certainly wouldn't be effective or just,"

"No, but blindly following rules without considering the situation is just as folly and ineffective," She shrugged and played her turn, the kuniochi was a card short of another yaku;

"You're right, of course..." He averted his eye back down to his cards and played his turn, earning himself a yaku and calling the hand so that he gained the points. They continued to play their turns and lapsed into a comfortable silence the atmosphere to the evening was very companionable, with the lanterns offering a light which was enough to see by, but was not too harsh and the low hum of the remaining civilians and shinobi enjoying the party was quite relaxing; Sakura found herself offering a sigh of contentment as she lifted her beer bottle again to take a swig. She looked back over to meet Kakashi's eye,

"You don't sit around and relax in the village often, do you?" He posed his question with a light smirk,

"...No, I guess not...it just seems strange not for me to be either feeling on edge for something to happen or the village being on alert for something,"

"Yea, that usually _is_ the case...but its not bad to sit with a warm saké, a deck of cards and good company of an evening, is it?"

"Heh, I guess it has been a good evening...and, frankly a good day overall, despite how busy its been," Kakashi easily matched her smile, his eye happily curving;

"I couldn't agree more," They lapsed again into a companionable silence as they played the last few hands, neither truly feeling the need to speak as they placed down and picked up cards for a few more hands, enjoying the evening and a the relaxed game of cards – a combination all too rarely experienced by either of them.

Sakura had intended herself to win indisputably (her statement of being as unsure of the rules as she let on, a false pretence), but after the first few hands, she was content enough to simply feel as though she didn't _have_ to win and could instead just enjoy the game and the time spent with a man who – now – she could think of in the way which had become so natural to do so (even though her inner self had desperately denied and tried to ignore it), as the one who was, ultimately, the most important to her.

They played the last few hands and Sakura won by only about five points, Kakashi looked a little unimpressed at loosing to her, but there was no tension between them; Sakura yawned before he could ask if she wanted to play another game,

"Shall we call it a night?" She nodded in response to his question,

"Yea, I'm exhausted," He nodded in agreement and swiftly shuffled the cards together and replaced them into their little box, which in turn was dropped into the pouch on his hip as they both rose to their feet and walked slowly away from the seating area and back down the darkened streets towards their respective apartments.

They wound their way slowly back through the now fairly quiet streets, although there were still a number of civilians and other nin ambling around, some were fairly tipsy and both Kakashi and Sakura had to dodge some of the more inebriated citizens. Kakashi could feel the effects of drinking a fair bit of potent saké on top of his already heavy physical fatigue and the mental too of his relief from hearing that Sakura shared his feelings and was prepared to see where it took them; it was all beginning to take its toll on the Copy Nin and he now wanted to flop into bed and get a good night of uninterrupted sleep.

Only two points were making this seem less than certain – firstly, given a choice, he'd have Sakura join him, to keep him warm and secondly, his ribs were beginning to ache something awful and it wasn't easy to concentrate on anything else (his steadily worsening fatigue wasn't helping either). He knew he needed to go to bed soon, but couldn't bring himself to say 'good bye' to her quite yet,

"Sakura, come to mine for tea?" He veered off and she fell into step next to him, her expression one of slight concern as he met her eye,

"Are you alright? Are your ribs hurting?" He nodded, his clouded mind not immediately able to decipher that it was his posture which gave him away (subtly, of course, but Sakura had learnt to read him well); she kept up to him, ready to catch him if he crashed. They quickly made their way into his main apartment building and the kuniochi slipped under his right arm to support him; he managed to let them into his apartment and Sakura took over, easily closing the door and steering him to where she supposed his bed was – realising that she hadn't actually been to his place before. She eased him down onto his bed, and set about removing his sandals, flak jacket and shirt, after turning on the light;

"Sorry about this, Sakura-chan," His breath was a little laboured and Sakura winced slightly at seeing his blackened ribs, noting that he'd prematurely removed the bandages;

"It's alright...what on earth were you doing to re-injure these ribs? You should have been resting today," She trailed off, wondering if her sitting on him hadn't helped; she directed her chakra to her hands, thankful that she hadn't drunken too much and was still on-the-ball enough to heal him. She sat on the edge of the bed next to him, tilted in to face him slightly as he dropped his left hand to her thigh and he closed his eyes, breathing a small sigh of relief as her chakra slowly wove into him, healing his aching ribs.

Sakura thought him almost asleep by the time she finished, he hadn't moved for a good few minutes and she intended to slip out without waking him, he badly needed the rest after leaving hospital early _and_ their little spar (and belatedly remembering that she'd fallen on him and it was probably that which had hurt him again). She rose slowly to her feet, about to deposit his arm on the side of the bed as his hand gripped hers,

"Stay here, Sakura, we don't...have to _do_ anything, but I'm sick of saying goodbye to you so early," He slowly sat himself up and turned to face her, his free hand going to tug off his haitai-ate and dropped it onto his bedside table before rising to his feet; she hesitated as he began to tug off his gloves the bandages around his calves before ridding himself of his trousers and Sakura finally gave in, deciding that the view was too good to walk away from.

The kuniochi tugged her light jumper and shirt over her head as Kakashi's hand found her back and he connected their lips in what remained a fairly chaste, but still tantalising kiss – she had to fight the urge to run her hands over his chest but allowed them to rest on his bare shoulders just the same.

He squeezed her tight for a moment before pulling his arms away so his hands came to rest on her hips before he allowed his fingertips to run around the bare skin above the hem of her trousers as he swiftly unbuttoned them, although making sure to leave her underwear in place – this time – he let go of her entirely and threw back the duvet on his bed, gesturing for her to climb in as he joined her immediately after.

He replaced the cover over them, blocking out the, now chilly night air before folding his arms around the kuniochi and pressed his lips to her neck, relishing the feel of her pressed against him and her slender hands running over his back, yes, this was the way drift off to sleep – and he was grateful that his fatigue was as great as it was – he would rather not have a fire lit inside him which he'd then have keeping him awake as he fervently tried to resist it. He struggled to quite grasp how well she fitted against him and the little kisses she was pressing to the base of his neck were cruelly tempting; still, he lifted her chin and kissed her thoroughly one last time, unable to truly resist her;

"Goodnight, Sakura," He whispered lightly and she offered a small smile and another kiss to the corner of his mouth,

"G'night, Kakashi," He tucked her as close up against him as he could manage and allowed himself to slowly drift off to sleep with his fingertips continuing to run soothingly over the mostly bare skin on her back, his forearms holding her in place against him.

Just before sleep fully took him over, he was very conscious of how content and happy he felt just to hold her close, without an automatic expectation of anything more physical – and although he was eager to do so, it was not the foundation of their being together – a realisation which he, somehow, found infinitely reassuring – although he'd yet to fully put his finger on exactly why...or what it might mean.

..

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><p>An – with regard to the Hanafuda Koi Koi game, I got my information off of this website: http: / www(dot)gamedesign(dot)jp/flash/hanafuda/rule_e(dot)html (exchange brackets for dots and remove spaces either side of the double forward slashes) so please see there in reference to the moves I made mention of earlier in the chapter and see the wiki on Hanafuda Koi Koi for a more detailed explanation of how-to-play. I have to say, though, I have never personally played (properly) this game before (although I'd quite like to) so there will obviously be a few nuances I can't grasp from just reading about how and if you have played this game and there is one / a few obvious mistake/s, then I apologise – please let me know so that I can correct them! Cheers!


	38. Chapter 38

This is it, people, the final chapter (the epilogue, essentially, I suppose) of GNF! _**Damn**_ I have _loved_ writing this story! Made all the more so by you guys' support, so thank you all for your unending backing for this story and I can't tell you how happy it had made me over the past few months to read how much you guys have enjoyed reading it! ^-^ So thank you very much for sticking with it and taking the time to read it fully through / favourite it / add it to story alert / review! Really, I cannot thank you enough! It was you who inspired me to make the story as long as it was! (Ahah, it was only supposed to be a little 15,000 odd word ditty, but it turned into this monster! XD) Still, if you enjoyed reading it, then what's the harm, eh? I can't see any! ^-^ Anyway, thank you! And I hope the ending is to a satisfactory standard!

A bit more geek in this chapter (although not as much as I might have hoped!) but it had to be done, it just wouldn't have been right without any! XD

The _**poll**_ people! Please, go and vote in it (go to my profile page and you will see it at the top of said page)! If not...well, then I guess you'll have to just be happy with whatever my next Kakashi one-shot ends up as!

Ahaha! I think this ended up all very corny! XD But somehow I couldn't quite help it, so, uh, please try and bear with it, yes? Ehehehe ^-^

..

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><p><em><strong>Go No Further<strong>_

_Part 38: A Japanese Maple In The Autumn_

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><p>Kakashi and Sakura had been summoned early the next morning (<em>too<em> early) by Naruto and they both grudgingly roused themselves – well, Sakura forced herself to try and get up after the messenger made mention that Senri's interrogation had been completed and the kuniochi guessed that she would next be searched for. Kakashi could, however, apparently be very persuasive and kept one of his arms locked around her as the other snuck over to thread his fingers through her hair, trapping her quite effectively against him, she struggled a little on principle rather than any real desire to escape his grasp – the air was cool but his bed warm and the strength in the body pressed against her was somewhat comforting,

"We can spare a few more minutes, there's no rush," He pressed his lips to the side of her neck before nuzzling her slightly; he was surprised at first to wake up feeling so comfortable with Sakura's mostly naked body pressed to him, quickly remembering _why _she was in his bed, he afforded the time to watch her for a moment as he marvelled at just how well she fitted against him. He'd lifted a hand to trace along her jaw and over her lips and the sleepy grumbling she'd offered in return had been weak and ineffectual, but had warmed the cockles of his heart, and so looped his arms a little tighter around her and allowed himself to drop back to sleep.

Of course, the messenger nin had effectively ruined his peace and Kakashi had tugged the duvet up a little higher, to cover the remaining bare skin of her shoulder, back and her distinctive hair – there might not be anything she was really showing, but he still wasn't about to allow the other nin an eyeful (or an obvious clue as to just whom was sharing his bed) – Kakashi managed to mostly cover her over just as he appeared at his window.

Still, they eventually made it to Naruto's office – quicker than the blonde expected from Kakashi and slower than his anticipated from the pink – still, he didn't query them too much; most of his staff a little hung-over from the evening previous, so perhaps neither were quite as on the ball as they were usually. Morino Ibiki was stood to Naruto's left and Yamanaka Inoichi was stood to his right; with a nod, the Chuunin exam procter began,

"The interrogation of Urrishou Senri has been completed and there are a number of things we've found – one of which should be of particular interest. It seems that Senri and Sanosuke were from a crime organisation in the northern territory of Kiminari no kuni who were large, but dealt mostly with civilians – they had shinobi working for them, but had committed barely petty crimes relating to other shinobi, bar the few fights between gangs.

"They were extremely powerful and Kumo kept their eyes on the organisation, but hadn't yet managed to flatten it, with the shinobi working for it, training any suitable candidates to join them. A small faction within this group, believed that they needed to begin striking out and making a name for themselves on a much larger scale – Sanosuke was one who thoroughly believed in this – and that the perceived waning strengths of the ninja villages would play into their hands...he had spent the better part of the past three or so years scouting around to find out the states of affairs of the other nations.

"About a year ago, he found himself in Konoha and was sat in a bar over hearing a very interesting conversation...it would seem that Kamizuki Izumo, Namura Taiki and Yaruki Akihiko had an interesting discussion – in one of the busy local bars – over your fight with Naruto-sama just after he had returned to the village, when you and Kakashi organised the ANBU training session at the Uchiha compound," Sakura only just managed to keep her eyes from widening in surprise – so _that's _where Sanosuke found out about her from,

"It seemed that Sanosuke had over heard those three speculating about what technique you must have been using – and that it was a space-time technique but weren't using seals or hand signs and so on...Sanosuke apparently decided that because they spoke about you in such familiar terms and yet were surprised by even the idea of space-time ninjutsu, then Sanosuke had a good chance of keeping you occupied, Sakura, whilst another was supposed to fight and kill Tsunade. The plan changed of course – their desire to tackle Konoha waning after hearing that Naruto had returned and that you were also utilising a space-time technique," Inoichi carried on from Ibiki as Sakura began to get the picture,

"Hence he sought me out after the tournament to test out my skills...I'd caught his eye and he wanted a more serious fight than what he got at the border of Fire," Inoichi nodded,

"That's right – the higher-ups of his organisation weren't impressed with him and wanted him to go in first to see what he could prove – no doubt expecting him to get finished off with minimal risk to them, and even if he succeeded, then they still won in the end." The room lapsed into silence for a few moments as everybody digested what had been said,

"Have you said anything Izumo, Taiki and Akihiko yet?"

"We've spoken to Izumo, but we thought it best to leave Namura and Yaruki to you, their taichou," Sakura nodded sternly,

"Good, I'll _set them straight_ Hokage-sama," All of the men in the room had a fairly good idea of how thorough Sakura could be – and whilst she wouldn't quite go overboard, they also knew that the two younger shinobi would not soon forget the lesson, or what they'd done wrong.

Fairly quickly after, Sakura, Ibiki and Inoichi were dismissed and Kakashi remained behind, presumably to discuss something with Naruto; Sakura headed down towards the street, making her way out of the administration building and decided to head intially back home for a shower before seeking out two of her subordinates for a stern talking to about checking what they say in a crowded bar.

She was forced to admit, however, her relief at finding out that Sanosuke had gotten the information from sources who were just a bit careless (irritating, but understandably careless – after a long day of harsh training and then sitting in a familiar, friendly atmosphere can be difficult to keeps ones guard up in) rather than someone who'd held a grudge and had chosen to betray Konoha. Just as she stepped out of the Hokage building, a movement to her right caught her attention,

"H-hey, Sakura," It was Izumo, "I assume you've just been to see Ibiki-sampai and Inoichi-sampai?" Sakura nodded as he felt into step beside her,

"Yes, that's right,"

"Then, I want to apologise for being so careless...I should have thought a bit more carefully about what I was saying at that time, something which nearly got you and Tsunade-sama killed," Sakura pursed her lips slightly,

"Well, I doubt anyone could have predicted the turn of events which did occur – and whilst you probably gave the enemy something of a head-start – I don't doubt that something similar was inevitable...besides, in the end, I was prepared enough for him and no serious injury was sustained, but... Well, I'm sure you got a thorough dressing down from Ibiki and Inoichi,"

He offered a lightly sheepish smile, before nodding in agreement; she wanted, frankly, to give him a sharp slap upside the head for his carelessness, but knew it wasn't appropriate and that it wouldn't solve anything – and she was grateful enough that he'd bothered to wait for her, so as to apologise.

"So, uh, I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me? My treat – call it a proper apology, if you will," He scratched the back of his head, his apprehension obvious although clearly not _too_ great as he didn't break eye contact; Sakura had to take a few moments so as find the right words, without giving away anything she didn't want to;

"Uh...maybe...my schedule is looking extremely full at the moment and I really haven't got much time on my hands," That wasn't _just_ an excuse – Kakashi or no, she _still_ had a report to write over her fight with Sanosuke, and she'd yet to get past the opening sentence of it; she internally sighed at the prospect of what would no doubt be very time-consuming to write. Izumo boldly place a hand on the back of her upper arm, just above the elbow,

"Then how about lunch? We won't be long and I'm sure you can spare an hour or so," He smiled lightly as an encouragement and before Sakura could get another word out a blur of movement brought them to a halt as Kakashi stood a few feet in front of them, his eye darted down to their point of contact before up to the kuniochi's eyes,

"There you are, Sakura, I've just been speaking with the Hokage-sama and I have his permission,"

"Permission for what?" Izumo cut across, still yet to cease touching Sakura,

"Its classified, Izumo-kun; Sakura," Kakashi gestured for her to go with him,

"Sorry, Izumo, I guess I'll see you around some-time," She offered apologetically before taking to the rooftops with Kakashi; the youngish dark haired shinobi sighed, why the hell did someone always turn up and demand Sakura's attention when he was on the cusp of getting some time alone with the kuniochi?

"What did you ask Naruto about?" Sakura asked as soon as they were out of ear-shot of anyone near by, Kakashi didn't immediately answer as they dropped down away from the buildings and headed out over one of the empty training fields,

"I...hope you weren't seriously considering going out with him,"

"What? Of course not! I was trying to be polite – I really don't want to go anywhere or do anything with him, but I nor did I want to say anything to him about us..." Kakashi grinned,

"I know, Sakura-chan, you just looked so awkward that I was almost convinced that you really _did_ like him,"

"Kakashi!" He laughed lightly again, ignoring how slightly unsettled it had made him feel to see Izumo so comfortably put his hands on her, even if it _was_ quite innocent touching,

"Anyway, I was telling Naruto about the situation with my sharingan and he's agreed to take me off the rota for solo A and S rank missions whilst I re-train myself not to use it – I'll need your help with training, though,"

"Oh! Right, no problem, just say when and I'll be happy to help," His eye curved happily,

"Great! How about now?"

"Right now?"

"Why else do you think I led us to the training ground?" Sakura's eyebrows flopped into a straight line as she expressed just how unimpressed she was with the situation – she _really did_ have a few other things which demanded her attention today, but she somehow guessed that Kakashi wasn't about to take no for an answer as he crouched lower into an attacking stance. Oh well, certainly not the worst way to spend a day...maybe this time, at least, if she ended up on top of him, she wouldn't have to waste effort in pretending that it didn't have a distracting impact on her.

* * *

><p>Kakashi landed heavily just outside the giant green gates of his home village in the early afternoon sun, he'd been away for just over three weeks on an A-rank, an assassination of a delightfully paranoid target; he hoped Sakura was back by now too, she'd been sent out over half a month before he'd been and, dare he admit it, was missing his kuniochi. Naruto had been Hokage for about six months and was doing well, Kakashi thought, he'd managed to strike a good balance between working for the village's interests and giving it a strong front to the other nations - he, too, had finally settled comfortably into the demanding role as the village's head.<p>

Likewise, he and Sakura was going fairly strong, and despite the actually time which had passed since that evening all those months ago, where they admitted wanting more from each other, the leisure time they actually spent together was quite limited – and Kakashi was occasionally forced to wonder if Naruto had figured them out and was displaying his disapproval by keeping them apart so often (but maybe that was an unfair assessment from a fairly disgruntled shinobi).

They'd agreed not to advertise what was going on between them, but neither had they any reason to go out of their way to hide it, even so, Gai was still the only one who was aware of their relationship (and thought Sakura's youthfulness was a good influence on Kakashi (whom he trusted to honourably take care of her) and needless to say, Kakashi wasn't impressed with the indirect implication of his age by the Green Beast) or was one who'd made any mention of it, at least, since both Kakashi and Sakura had a healthy appreciation for subtlety and so tended to avoid and public displays for their affection for each other.

Kakashi had gotten very used to spending his free time with her and overall, he enjoyed the comfort of knowing he had an impact on someone and that she was one he could share things with and feel unguarded around. Their schedules (and the punctuation of regular absences through missions, when it wasn't for _too _long) actually suited him; he was one who needed plenty of space to himself and their respective and regular absences meant that this time was ensured for him – and so he didn't unfairly take out any frustrations, through feeling cramped, on Sakura...

Although there were days, where he felt it had been just a bit too long since he'd last been free to spend some time with her, but it was certainly not the worst problem he could imagine – and was thankful that that was the most significant issue in their relationship. Of course, the once or twice where he hadn't set eyes on her for over a month, then getting a single night together before he left the next day for in-excess of a month, was just a bit too little time for him and he often made a point of being especially late for those missions.

He hoped Sakura was back and that they could have a few days together before another mission was assigned, this time; he missed how comfortable he was to simply hang out with her, without too much expectation – neither of nor from her – something made all the more important from his recent spate of team-related missions, his partners more often than not, people he was barely familiar with.

Kakashi scanned his eye over the list of expected shinobi as he signed himself off, seeing Sakura's name, but no signature; he sighed internally to himself as he ambled away, knowing he wouldn't find a pleasant surprise as he made his way home – he'd just have to hope that it wouldn't be too long before she returned (or that he wasn't sent out again ahead of such time).

He made his way quickly to Naruto for a debrief and then home for a shower and hot meal; the mission had been taxing and he was long overdue for a spot of respite. He was home quickly and afforded a long time for his post-mission ablutions after retrieving various items from his freezer for an early dinner, and settled himself down for what would no doubt be a relaxing (if not slightly lonely) afternoon as he waited for his rice to cook.

He was pleased at his performance on the mission – his first such high ranking, solo one after ceasing to use his sharingan, after his extensive training to re-teach himself not to rely on it, he'd been waiting for this mission especially to see how he could cope in the field without his precious, gifted eye. He'd found it difficult at first; without the use of the little tricks he'd come to rely upon – the ability to read lips, the near instant memorisation of the quirks of his target – and although it had been occasionally awkward, he hadn't found it insurmountable and he guessed that another part of his struggle, was to do with the fact that his sharingan was still eating at his chakra.

Even when the eye was closed, chakra still fed to it keeping it active and so long as the eye remained, Kakashi wasn't able to divert his full chakra to a jutsu...and as a result of years of dealing with the sharingan (and the potential effects of chakra depletion) he naturally set aside a percentage of his chakra to make sure he'd always have enough to keep himself alive. He had to wonder what his chakra level would be like without the sharingan – although the percentage he set aside was low, since his natural chakra level was not as high as other might assume for him, the relative amount of chakra at his disposal would all the more significant.

He was satisfied, now, that he could cope without it and was ready to ask Sakura shut down the last vestige of the Uchiha clan – whenever she returned – and he was looking forward to again remembering what sort of a shinobi he would be without it. Kakashi was hopeful, too that if Sakura got back within two or so days, then they should have at least one full day together for the plans he'd made – they weren't the most exciting, by most couples standards, he supposed, but it _was_ something very personal to them and it would make an important statement.

And Sakura, he knew, was one who appreciated subtly far more than proud, flashy moves.

After the Copy Nin had eaten, he quickly readied himself to leave his apartment, taking a winding route around to where he was headed – his attention swiftly alerted by familiar voices,

"Phew! I'm glad to be back! That mission took way too long..." It was Akihiko, he suppressed his chakra and slipped out of sight,

"Heh, tell me about it! A month and a half of sitting around in the rain!" Taiki grumbled back as Kakashi kept his presence hidden,

"Yea, then Sakura-taichou pushed us so hard to run back...shit," _Bingo!_

"Haha, yea, I think she was making up for having to sit still for so long," Kakashi grinned to himself as he hurried along with his original destination his objective now seeming all the more purposeful now that his kuniochi was back.

He landed on her balcony and swiftly picked the lock, letting himself inside before closing and re-locking it behind him, there was no sign of Sakura herself, as yet, other than the fact that her hall and bedroom lights were on; he slipped off his sandals and flack jacket and settled himself on her bed, laying back to wait for her to make an appearance. He soon heard her footsteps approach and she stepped through the doorway wearing only a towel, just about covering her from her chest down to mid thigh as she scrubbed at her hair with a separate towel, halting in mid-step as soon as she set eyes on the man relaxing on her bed,

"Kakashi?" He grinned and sat up, beckoning her towards him; she stepped up to the elder shinobi,

"I must say that seeing you dressed like this is more than compensation for the fact you were away for so long," Sakura rolled her eyes at his playful statement as he swallowed her up in a hug, quickly pulling down his mask so that he could fit his lips to hers, feeling finally at home again. She somewhat sluggishly returned the kiss and the embrace, her fatigue evident to him,

"Sorry, Kakashi, I'm-s-ahh," The last of her sentence was lost in a huge yawn as Kakashi rubbed his hands over her back swiftly, before letting her go and throwing the covers back before gesturing for her to sit down, pulling the towel which was draped over her shoulders into his hands.

"Don't worry about it," He quickly set about drying off her legs and any where else still damp before she lay flat and was just about asleep as Kakashi stripped down and joined her; she ran her hand slowly over the bare skin on his back, as his own arms curled closely around her,

"When did you get back?"

"Earlier today," He pressed light kisses to her neck already feeling flashes of arousal, although he resisted, his own fatigue caught up with him and he squeezed her a little tighter, tucking her head under his chin, "Get some sleep, Sakura." He too allowed himself to relax into the comfort of his position and was quickly asleep himself.

She slowly became conscious of his hand, smoothing over the curve of her waist, through the mental fog as it pulled her from slumber and she offered a sleepy grumble,

"Mmh, a bit later," She could almost hear his smile,

"It already is 'later', I've been waiting for ages,"

"Since when do you wait for anything?" He allowed a breath of laughter to escape at his words,

"And here I thought you'd appreciate me at least letting you wake up, first," She couldn't help but grin, even though she tried to resist it as his hands continued to gently run themselves over what he could reach, "There's a lot I have planned, we should get the day started,"

"What things do you want to do?"

"Stop trying to go back to sleep and I'll show you," She rolled onto her back now able to set eyes on him as he took the moment to appreciate the view, as he lay, propped on his elbow,

"You haven't woken me up early for a 'busy' day only to stay in bed, have you?" Kakashi couldn't have resisted the peals of laugher which escaped him, even if he'd tried, the slight blush which appeared on her cheeks, as she fully took note of what she'd said, only tickling him further. When he eventually got his amusement under control, he shook his head slightly, running his palm up over her taut stomach;

"Not quite, although if that's what you really want, I guess I could be persuaded to spend a few extra hours here," She slapped a hand over her eyes in mild embarrassment as he continued to grin, leaning down to plant a warm kiss on her lips – she hadn't been _entirely_ wrong in her assumption, their day would certainly start off by staying in bed a while longer.

…

They sat themselves down to a simple breakfast as Sakura thought of what to ask him, something she wanted to do last night, but sleep beat her to the punch,

"Hey, what was your mission? Another team-based A rank?" Kakashi shook his head, signifying a 'no',

"A solo A-rank, actually," Sakura set the pot of tea down on the table as Kakashi poured them both out a cup while she took her seat opposite him at the small wooden table, "I could really feel the difference in not using my sharingan, but I was pleased to find not using it not as much of a hindrance as I anticipated,"

"That's good...after so long of relying on it, you must have felt strange suddenly no doing so when you had no one to back you up,"

"Yea, it was odd, especially for little things like lip reading used to come in so handy – I could read more than I expected without it, but it was still something of a luxury I'll miss," She grinned her agreement as she dished out two bowlfuls of rice and a small omelette each; "So what did you want to do today?"

"I want you to shut down my sharingan, first of all," She couldn't help her eyes widening in surprise at his request,

"A-are you sure? What if-"

"Sakura, the eye is failing me anyway, it will eventually loose its light whether I like it or not and once I'm blind there's no telling whether it will shut off or not...I learned a lot on this mission and even though I didn't actually _use_ my sharingan, it was still eating away at my chakra and it was holding me back...the quicker I learn how to reuse my full chakra the better – now that I'm thinking again along the lines I used to without a sharingan, its presence – without use – is only holding me back."

He paused for a moment to give a rueful smile, "And, dare I admit it, I'm closer to old age than I am youth, I can't afford to play around with my chakra reserves, assuming that because I made it through before, I will do so the next time," Sakura didn't even bother to mask her concern at his last sentence, "You know this just as well as I do, Sakura, that sharingan has been a precious gift to me and has saved me more times than I can possibly count, but _its_ time has come to an end, and its time_ I_ let go," They stared at each other across the table for a few moments before Sakura conceded, clamping a bit of her omelette between her chopsticks,

"Okay, Kakashi, it shouldn't be too difficult, if you're absolutely sure you want me to...I assume you've spoken to Naruto about it?"

"I have, during my mission debrief immediately after I returned yesterday," She nodded,

"Alright, I can do it after breakfast, if you'd like?" He nodded and offered a small smile – as determined as he was, it would still be a difficult gift to part with –

"Please," They busied themselves with finishing off their meals before Sakura quickly put her dishes in the sink (the bowls filled with water and set aside for washing later) before she gestured to her sofa,

"It'll probably be easier if you lie down, please," He nodded and did as asked, (he hadn't yet bothered to put on his flack jacket or haitai-ate since getting dressed); Sakura knelt beside him and placed a palm over his left eye,

"I did a little extra research – as well as I could – after I checked your sharingan just after we'd returned from the tournament, and I think the procedure itself should be pretty simple but I have no idea how it will feel to you...judging the fact that you found it painful for me to draw out the excess chakra, I can only guess that this will be anything from as painful as that, to downright excruciating," She had her eyes closed as she gently probed the optic nerve, she could, however, feel him frown against her hand,

"That's not very reassuring," She couldn't quite resist a grin,

"Sorry...all I can ask is that you resist the urge to pull my hand away, if the pain gets too much tell me and I'll cease, but ripping my hand away could cause some very nasty problems...trust me to know what I'm doing," She opened her eyes to meet his again before she began,

"Of course I trust you," She closed her eyes again after offering one more reassuring smile, Kakashi kept his remaining open eye on her, watching as she worked, able to feel her chakra weave through his eye. Sakura focussed as she thought about how to shut the eye down – watching the process in her mind's eye.

Her own chakra flowing through the optic nerve to observe the weave and high concentration of the chakra pathways – which, instead of being fairly uniform in trailing through each cell in the body, the chakra pathways of the (presumably) Uchiha optic nerve, meant that they slowly drew closer together and, through years of concentrated use, had merged slightly.

This allowed the massive density of chakra to travel through often and hence form the sharingan; Sakura carefully set about organising her chakra at the thickest part of the pathways before focussing her chakra to form multiple 'clots' through each one, preventing any more chakra from moving further down the tract; Kakashi sharply grunted in pain as his hand again jumped to her wrist,

"I know, hold on," She forced herself to focus and slowly expanded the clot, with the degradation of the pathway so great, it took only a few seconds for her chakra to have enlarge far enough for it to rupture the tracts; unfortunately, these few seconds were startlingly painful for the Copy Nin and it took all of his will-power not to yank Sakura's hand away from his eye socket, as she had asked. As soon as the pathway was ruptured, she dissipated her chakra and pulled her hand away from his eye, which immediately opened to show the tomoe beginning to blur and the red pigmentation fading to the natural black – his pain easing with each passing moment,

"How does it feel? Can you see anything?" She asked gently, feeling her own fatigue at having to concentrate her chakra so highly in one, minuscule area was something she'd never done before; Kakashi stared at her for a moment, blinking slowly – he looked unbelievably _odd_ with two, matching eyes. He closed his right eye before squinting slightly with the left,

"I can sort of see you, but its incredibly dark, not more than a rough outline...but it doesn't ache...well, not quite in the way it used to, it still stings a little from whatever you did, but its..." He trailed off, unsure how to explain precisely what he was feeling; he reopened his right eye, marvelling slightly at how he no longer needed to automatically calculate how long he could keep is left eye open for,

"Its funny seeing you with two matching eyes..." She cocked her head to the side, slightly smirking, "You look almost normal," Kakashi sat up as he looked deeply unimpressed,

"I doubt I need a lecture on what looks normal from a woman with pink hair," She raised up on her knees so that her height wasn't too much lower than his as she put her hands on her hips and responded with a playfully indignant,

"Hey!" He merely grinned and looped his arms around her shoulders,

"Thank you for shutting it down, Sakura," She encircled her own arms around him,

"No problem...you'll probably only be able to make an accurate assessment tomorrow, after you've had time to adjust to it, but let me know _immediately_ if it begins to hurt, ache or even do anything significantly out of the ordinary," He pulled back and grinned happily, causing both eyes to curve,

"Hai, hai, Sakura-chan. Well, now that's out the way with, how about we head off for the other important thing, today?" She cocked her head slightly, her eyebrows raised in a silent question as she nodded,

"Yea, sure," Kakashi rose to his feet and was swift to fetch his flak-jacket, haitiai-ate and sandals as Sakura joined him at the door a second later and they were soon out in the cool, late morning air. Kakashi immediately took to the rooftops and Sakura followed suit, curious as to where he was going – and by the time they reached the edge of the village, Sakura was beginning to think that she knew where they were headed, as swiftly as ever, they left Konoha and darted through the trees until they came upon the silver-haired shinobi's garden;

"Why are we here, Kakashi?" He turned to meet her eyes, his own flashing with amiable mirth,

"I want you to help me with something," He stepped away from the spot where they landed, and over a few feet, to where he usually kept his rain-barrel and composting tubs, he rummaged in the undergrowth for a few moments before dragging out a potted plant; it was a small tree, really, but he placed it down in front of him before stepping over to his tiny 'greenhouse' which was just large enough to store the various tools he required. After he'd pulled out a spade, he grinned back at her before gesturing to it,

"This is a Japanese maple – although its still young...I want you to help me plant it...I think its about time I had one of these in my garden," He grinned cheerfully as he walked a little closer to her, "Where do you think would be best?" Sakura got the distinct feeling he wasn't quite saying everything, but she chose not to query him right at that moment, turning instead to look over the garden – which was still looking lively and busy from the mostly still blooming flowers, although they were well past their peak – they were still beautiful, nonetheless;

"...I think near the statue...not quite next to it, but on one of the two corners adjacent to it, perhaps?" She offered whilst looking back to him, he nodded and his smile remained, but softer, somehow;

"I think so, too," He lifted up the gardening tool and handed it to Sakura as he pulled off his gloves to stuff them into his pocket and picked up the tree, following her down the narrow path towards the large stone hands at one end; she came to a halt where the large stone slab sat in front of the intertwined hands and stood to the side slightly, enough to allow Kakashi to stand next to her and put the tub down again; Sakura looked between the two corners,

"How about in the left-hand corner? The tree line is a little further back so it should have plenty of light to grow without obscuring the flowers too much," He briefly flicked his eye over to the right corner and back again to the left,

"You're right, that corner it is," He shifted over, to where the surrounding trees naturally parted and where there was an indent, just off the exact corner,

"You'll probably need to dig down about a foot and a half," Sakura had to admit, she felt a little odd, lifting up the spade but she drove it into the ground, she couldn't resist the instinct that it meant more than simply planting a tree; it didn't take Kakashi long to be satisfied with the depth and width of the hole,

"Okay, hold it there," He gently tugged the spade from Sakura's hands and darted away to his composters and lifted a spade-full from one of them, carefully returning to drop the contents into the depression in the earth before lifting the maple up by its currently slender trunk, "Pull off the pot, would you?" Sakura didn't hesitate to do as he asked and he lowered it into the trough; she found her hands helping him before her brain had fully registered it and she continued to pat in the excess soil as Kakashi fetched another spade's worth of compost to press in around the base of the stem. He sat back on his heels as he turned to Sakura, unable to keep the smile from his face; he reached his hand out to find hers, their fingers lacing.

"I think the maple will do well, here,"

"Kakashi, why did you ask me here to help you?" He held her gaze for a moment, his own unreadable,

"Its said that the blossoms of the Japanese maple are often used to represent lovers," Her question went unspoken, but not unheard, "You're so very precious to me, Sakura-chan, and you have had such an enormous impact on my life in so many ways...Firstly as my student," He shifted to turn himself about slightly, enough to look behind him, leading her gaze to the central circle, which was split into thirds, one of deep blue, pink and orange coloured flowers, "And that has been recorded here. As much..._difficulty_ as there was with Team 7, it was an incredibly important phase in my life and, although it took me a long time to realise it, teaching you three changed me immensely and shaped the person I am in a way I hadn't imagined was possible..."

He paused again for a few moments, his eye searching hers as he squeezed her hand in his gently, "It took much, _much_ longer than it should have, but eventually you became my friend, Sakura, and a very dear one at that...its not as if I planned for us to become so..._close_ from the start, but...after a while, I realised just how important you are to me and how being just your friend wasn't enough, how being so distant from you felt so wrong...like I was..._incomplete _somehow.

"I've already told you how I feel about you, Sakura – that I'm in love with you – and you've come to mean so much to me, that I'd never imagined I'd enjoy being so intimate with you as I do – when the thought of such intimacy with another used to terrify me, in the past. But it's something which I feel, now, deserves commemoration here, especially as this garden ended up leading me to you – someone I'd never bothered to get to know after I'd selfishly forgotten you when Naruto left,"

Sakura wasn't used to him being quite so vocal about his feelings and was, herself, feeling slightly overwhelmed at the significance of the gesture – of him planting something to signify _them_ in his cherished garden; she struggled to find the appropriate words for a few moments;

"...You know, the time you must have caught me here, I'd debated with myself over coming here...I'd wanted a spot to meditate, although I'd guessed it must have belong to someone and I didn't want to intrude, but I just found myself here...irresistibly drawn to it – I'd never have imagined it might have belonged to you," She did her best to try and get her smile under control, although she didn't quite manage it,

"Somehow, whenever I've had dealings with this garden – or you, Kakashi – things have never turned out the way I was anticipating – although on the whole good, I must say – they were never encounters that were completely predictable or ignorable." He grinned and raised his free hand to pull down his mask, before leaning in to press his lips to hers, the kiss beginning as tenderly as he intended, but it didn't take long for it to descend into something far more passionate and urgent as his tongue knotted with hers; Kakashi reluctantly pulled back, panting slightly, to make sure he didn't take things too far, although he desired to express physically what he'd just said to her...whilst they were outside, at least.

"I love you, Kakashi," He found himself smiling again as he planted a second, significantly more chaste kiss on her lips before he rose to his feet (and yanked his mask back over his nose), swiftly fetching the watering can before returning to water-in the new tree; Sakura picked up the spade and discarded bucket which the tree had once sat in,

"Do you want to keep this?" She waved it slightly,

"Not sure, just stick it in the greenhouse for now," She nodded and did as asked as they both turned to leave the garden and head back into the village, Kakashi halting on one of the rooftops close to his apartment,

"I'm just going to change out of these muddy clothes, then I'll head over to yours, alright?" She nodded and they momentarily parted ways; Sakura returned to her apartment and as soon as she'd shed her sandals, she quickly washed her hands before wandering into her room (having left her front door unlocked) her mind drifted back over the past few hours.

She couldn't help but be surprised by how emotionally intimate her relationship with Kakashi was – something she had not been expecting by a long way – but was also something she didn't find as daunting as she'd thought previously, rather, it was something she welcomed, Kakashi able to make her feel very secure in both him and their relationship – even more so by his recent actions.

The sudden noise of her front door closing brought her attention back to the present as Kakashi appeared around her bedroom doorway, his eye falling over what she was doing (the kuniochi slow to realise that she'd automatically just pulled open the nearest draw on her dresser whilst her mind was elsewhere and not paying attention – which happened to contain only underwear – but hadn't even begun to get changed, as she was supposed to) she hastily closed it, slightly embarrassed at the odd moment he'd caught her in, although he only had an excited grin on his face,

"Oh! That reminds me..." She wasn't sure whether to be curious or worried,

"...Of what?" He pulled off the stuffed-to-the-gills back-pack on his shoulders and set it to the floor,

"When I had to bring your clothes to the hospital that time after your..._difficult_ mission in Mist, I had to bring you underwear, too, and I couldn't help but notice you have a few sinfully sexy pairs,"

"You…_what?_" She struggled to fully get her mind around what he was saying...and how long ago that had been,

"I couldn't help it, they jumped out at me…I didn't go _rummaging,_" He quickly rescued as she looked a little suspicious, "But…will you wear them for me?" He grinned as a frown played on her face, but he knew her well enough to know it was the playfully-irritated sort; she gave a few moments consideration – the likely return on carrying out such a simple request for him would almost _certainly_ be more than worth it - although she wasn't sure whether it was wise to let him know that.

"Alright…but I'm not telling you _when_, you'll have to guess," He grinned and crushed his lips to hers, he certainly wasn't going to complain about that – sounded like a delightful invitation, to him; she broke the kiss a little too quickly for his liking, "Kakashi, why do you have a back-pack?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'd just thought I'd save the trouble and bring a few things to keep here,"

..

.

* * *

><p>An – With regard to the maple blossoms thing, I'm not sure if this is true, I read in a few places that it is, but again, I really cannot say for certain – so I'll have to ask you to take it with a pinch of salt and assume for now that it does mean that! Cheers! ^-^

Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! ^-^


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